


The Greener Side

by Queequegg, suthnmeh



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Budding Love, F/M, Family Bonding, Friendship/Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 18:32:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5596459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queequegg/pseuds/Queequegg, https://archiveofourown.org/users/suthnmeh/pseuds/suthnmeh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side, and when Donnie is reintroduced to the Kraang brain-switching device, will he be able to resist this chance at a new life? And will April be able to make him come to his senses before it's too late?<br/>----2k12 after the events of season 3 - Battle For NY pt 2. Co-written with the lovely & talented Poleepkwana/Suthnmeh</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Surprise Visitor

**Chapter 1 - Surprise Visitor**

* * *

April O'Neil was pulled from a peaceful sleep by the sound of the latch on her living room window being jiggled free. In the couple of years since they had met, she had been relatively successful in training the turtles to either call before an unexpected arrival, or at the very least give her a polite knock, so as not to scare her to death.

With a roll of her eyes she sat up and gave a tiny yawn. Climbing out of the comfort of her bed, an involuntary shiver ran over her as she broke free from her cocoon of warm blankets. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was quite late—so late it almost qualified as early—way later than the boys would dare to come by without a good reason.

After their return to the city, defeating the Kraang and Donatello successfully managing to create another retro-mutagen to cure the inhabitants of New York, their life had finally taken a turn for the normal. Sure her father, along with many of the New Yorkers who had been mutated were still dealing with some post-traumatic stress from their time captured by the Kraang. But the city was healing; damaged buildings were being repaired, families were being reunited, and life seemed to have picked up where it had left off. Splinter and the turtles had moved from the pizza shop, back into their lair, and April and her dad were finally home.

After their sabbatical at the farmhouse, both April and a somewhat reluctant Casey had even gone back to finish the school semester. The Hamato clan was supportive and understood how important their education was, and an agreement had been made that they were not to be disturbed after midnight on a school night. So when she had been awoken from a deep slumber by their arrival, she was instantly filled with annoyance.

"This better be an emergency." April muttered to herself, slipping into the dark hallway.

As she approached the curtain covered window, her bare feet quietly shuffling across the wooden floor, something halted her in her tracks; a man's voice she didn't recognize. Straining to listen, a muffled curse could barely be heard through the glass. "Ow. Damnit!"

The window wasn't locked, and with her father out of town, April was alone in the apartment. Despite her time training as a kunoichi, she felt her pulse quicken at the sudden feeling of vulnerability. She was unarmed and her weapon was in the next room, tucked away in the pocket of her backpack. She quickly weighed her options; she could make a run for it, but would have to move past the window and risk alerting the intruder to her presence even sooner. Scanning the room her eyes fell upon one of her dad's old college awards. It was a carved glass sphere on a stand. She grabbed it, finding it a little awkward to hold, but 'National Academic Decathlon - 1st Place' was heavy and acceptable as an impromptu weapon.

Just then, the window swung open and the long heavy curtains rippled in the cool breeze of the night air. April pressed herself up against the wall, blending into the shadows as much as her bright yellow pajamas would allow. The figure of a man ungracefully spilled in through the opening, making a surprising amount of noise for a burglar. He stood straight and turned to close the window.

A flash of moonlight and street lamps illuminated his face enough for April to positively conclude that this man was a stranger. His hair was dark and he was dressed all in black. He reached up to pull the curtains shut, and April took her chance and jumped forward, using her momentum to add to her swing. The man tried to react and duck, but she still managed to hit him hard enough to knock him to the side.

As soon as he hit the ground, April turned to run for her tessen, but was momentarily halted when she heard the man call her name.

"April wait!"

The brief moment of hesitation was all he needed to lunge forward and grab hold of her as she moved to dart again. His rough hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her scream before it could escape. His other arm wrapped around her middle, easily encircling her slight frame and arms. Holding her back against him, he immobilized her limbs as she frantically struggled to break free of his grasp. She squirmed and twisted, doing everything she could to make herself difficult to hold onto, desperate to get loose.

"April, please. I need you to calm down. I can explain." The man pleaded, sounding flustered.

Confused by his statement, April decided to play along, using the time to calculate escape routes. She calmed her squirming, but her nerves were still on high alert.

"Thank you, I didn't mean to scare you. Just let me explain everything before you scream and wake all of your neighbors."

April gave a slight nod and was immediately rewarded as the man loosened his arms just enough for her to swing her leg up and connect with his groin.

"Arrrrgghhuunnn!" The man howled out as he let go of her, bending over in pain.

"You're going to pay for this you creep!" April shouted as she dove across the room, and ran to her backpack leaning near the front door. Slipping her fan out, she darted to the kitchen to grab the phone off the counter. 9-1-1 had already been entered and her thumb was on send when she heard the man groan out again.

"April wait! It's me, Donnie!"

She spun around and cautiously stepped back into the living room, eyeing the intruder who was still half bent over, using his arms on his knees to hold himself mostly upright. He didn't look all that dangerous.

She fanned out her weapon and took a stance, an entire room between them. Who the hell was this guy, and why did he know the name of one of the turtles? She felt her heart rate quicken yet again as her mind whirled to thoughts of her best friend and worried about what could have happened to him. "You have exactly 5 seconds to tell me what the hell you are doing in my apartment before you'll be regretting it."

His hands immediately went up in a 'don't shoot' stance and she felt a snigger of satisfaction seeing him wince from her earlier blow. "April, please! It's me. It's Donatello! Remember that brain-switching Kraang device thing? I switched bodies with this… this thug." The man patted his own chest in emphasis. "I need your help!"

She didn't allow her expression to even twitch, she'd heard a lot of far-fetched and remarkable stories in her time, but she'd be crazy to take anything at face value.

April's eyes narrowed as she considered what he had said. "And why on Earth would I believe that preposterous story? The Kraang aren't even around anymore!"

"I don't know how it happened!" He burst out before taking a large breath to calm himself. "You've got to believe me. I know it doesn't look like it, but it's me, it's Donnie, your best friend! You know, the tall, adorably geeky, mutated turtle?" He gave a light chuckle at his own remark, but she did not find it amusing.

"Prove it." She all but spat.

"Um… I met you two years ago…" He rattled off. "You had been captured by the Kraang and I rescued you when you fell from a helicopter. They kidnapped your father and my brothers and I helped you find him."

"How do I know this isn't some kind of 'Kraang trick'? There's lots of ways you could have gotten that information." April frowned, was this really the best this guy had?

The man paused for a minute, he seemed to be considering what she'd said.

The example he just tossed out happened under the close watch of the Kraang, which is why she doubted it. They'd seen the Kraang pull off all kinds of sneaky tricks; impersonating her missing mother, befriending her as an undercover Kraang disguised as a nice girl in the hopes to find their lair. They thought the alien monsters had been defeated, but then again, they thought that the first time too. She knew she had to be cautious, after all a total stranger just barged into her place demanding that she listen to his far-fetched story.

"Ask me anything." He finally responded in a plea, his hands held out in front of him, palm up.

Taking in his body language the man looked so distraught that it almost got to her. He no longer appeared intimidating and did not attempt to shift any closer to her. In fact, had taken a tiny step back after he had fully righted himself from her earlier blow. He could be trying to look less menacing, or maybe he truly wasn't someone to fear.

Honing in on the glimmer of control she had over her mental abilities, she tried to sense the intentions of this man in front of her. But found herself too riled up to really focus. And while her skills were anything but accurate, she did not have the feeling of dread that usually washed over her when something bad was about to happen.

She looked him over again, and took a deep breath before deciding on a question. It would need to be something intimate, something only Donnie would be able to answer. Immediately she was struck with the perfect memory. And she inwardly smirked as she adjusted her posture, feeling confident in her ability to stump any imposter.

"This summer, where were we when you and I talked about Bigfoot?"

She left it vague, aware that if he was the real deal, he'd know exactly which conversation about Bigfoot she'd be referring to.

He nodded, apparently satisfied with her question. "At the farmhouse. You were chopping firewood."

She took a step back to look him over again, but did not lower her weapon. _Was this for real? He hadn't even flinched before answering._ But she needed more proof and carried on with her questioning. "What did you come out there to tell me?"

"Oh." The man chuckled nervously to himself, and she noted the way he shifted his feet and looked down at this hands. Either this guy was stalling or the real Donnie was feeling embarrassed about her choice of questions.

"Well, that… it was a little… well, I kinda…" He stammered, and much to her surprise, the guy actually seemed to be blushing as he averted his gaze. Unable to interpret this behavior, April shot him a severe look that said she was losing her patience. She saw the man shrink under her gaze until eventually he sighed before continuing on.

"After Bigfoot left, I wanted to talk to you alone. You see, she had brought to my attention how awkward I must have been making you feel, in my attempts to gain your affection…" He paused to swallow a nervous lump. "...and then I said, that I would never bother you again with my… music boxes." He grinned timidly while nervously fidgeting, looking vulnerable to expose such details.

April found that her breath had caught in her chest at his last statement; he certainly had her attention now. She lowered her arm with the tessen just slightly, _how could he have possibly known those details if it wasn't him? He even managed to word it in such as way that his description of music boxes held more than one meaning._

"I told you that I understood, that I was 'just a mutant' to you." He added, the face of a stranger looking up at her with a soft smile that somehow seemed familiar.

The memory of that sunny afternoon came back to her in vivid clarity. Donatello looked so downtrodden when he had approached her that day, as though he had given up hope on something. And as he had stood before her, his olive green complexion looking so bright and healthy in the natural light, he spoke softly and avoided her eye contact and she realized that she had been the cause of his sadness. Without warning she had been overcome with the need to make sure that he didn't give up on her that day, and out of nowhere she had done something surprising.

"And what did I reply to that?" April urged from him, hoping for the last piece of evidence that this was indeed her friend.

"You corrected me, and said that I was 'your mutant'." He looked into her eyes and she could see the way he seemed to recollect the memory, the soft smile that tugged at the corner of his lips making her cheeks feel warm. "And then you kissed me."

April gasped and let her arm which was poised to strike, fall slack to her side. "Oh my God, it is you." She muttered aloud.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm still a little out of sorts." He raised an arm to scratch behind his neck, a familiar gesture that the young girl had seen the boy do many times. Even in another body it was recognizable the way he moved, now that she was willing to look for it.

With a shocked hand over her own heart, April moved closer to the body that her friend was currently trapped inside. Laying a gently hand on his wrist, she looked up into his relieved eyes. "What happened to you?!"

"That's a great question."

**End Chapter 1** **\- Surprise Visitor**

* * *

**A/N: We sure hope that this little teaser got you interested! There's plenty of more to come! And with Suthnmeh as a co-author, you better believe we already have some gorgeous art to go with this puppy too!**

**This story will also be posted on ff.net, but look here for artwork included with the story!**

**Let us know what you thought and if there's anything you are hoping to see!**

**Thanks for reading,  
Quee and Poleepkwana/Suthnmeh**


	2. It Hits the Fan

**Chapter 2 - It Hits the Fan**

* * *

 Feeling overwhelmed and needing a minute to catch his breath, Donatello sunk down to the floor, his foreign human limbs unfolding awkwardly as he settled into a position. He took in a deep breath of relief, grateful that he could let his guard down, now that April seemed convinced enough to not hit him again.

The redhead flicked on a nearby lamp before finding her place to stand watch over him. A warm light filled the room making him feel extremely vulnerable. It was strange; on more than one occasion he had dreamed about the chance to be human, but at this moment, he didn’t really want April to have to look at him while he wore this stranger’s face.

“How on earth did this happen to you?” She asked staring down at him, clearly oblivious to his internal thoughts.

“I’m not entirely sure.” He answered honestly, realizing just how troubling that was. Until this moment his mind had been purely focused on getting to safety and finding help. He hadn’t really had the chance to think through everything that must have happened to him.

She placed a light hand on his shoulder, offering a comforting smile. “Just start at the beginning.”

He sighed and closed his eyes to concentrate, trying to ignore his throbbing head.

“We had been out on patrol.” He nodded to himself, confident it was the last clear memory he had. “I had gone off on my own. I know Leo thinks Karai left the city after Coney Island, but I still like to scan for signs of her when we’re out, just in case. But I didn’t want to get his hopes up, so I came up with an excuse and stepped away.”

He watched her nod, urging him on, and he continued. “Next thing I knew, I was waking up under a pile of rubble. It wasn’t until I started to dig myself out that I noticed what had happened to me…” He looked down at his unfamiliar 5-digit hands, reliving the memory of how he had discovered the change.

“Who did this?” April asked, breaking into his brief flashback.

Shrugging in response, he continued on.“I recognized some pieces of the Kraang tech around me, it was the same swapping device that we’ve seen before.”

“But I thought the Kraang were gone?” April asked, unable to hide her concern.

“I never saw any Kraang, in fact I never saw anybody. The place was a catastrophe.” He pressed two fingers to either side of his forehead, and rubbed comforting circles to fend off the migraine.

April seemed to stew on this information for a moment before asking. “Have you contacted your brothers yet?”

Donnie shook his head, feeling the strange tickle of hair laying on his forehead bouncing as he moved. “Not yet. I didn’t have my T-phone and once I made it out of the building, I was able to determine my location and realized that I wasn’t too far from your place, so I made my way here.” He stopped to look up at her. “I hid outside, a couple of blocks away to make sure I wasn’t being followed.”

“Wise move.” She tipped her head and he could see the way she examined his features. He could only imagine how weird it must feel to put her trust into this person that looked nothing like himself.

“Are you okay?” She asked with narrowed eyes.

“Uh… yeah, I’m just… dizzy?” Donnie tried to piece together of the disorienting barrage of sensations that were all fighting for dominance. “Actually scratch that, my head is killing me and I ache all over,” he confessed, before pausing to really take a moment and listen to the body he inhabited. “Mostly I feel weak. Hungry maybe?”

“You obviously blacked out sometime before the switch took place, you might even have a concuss–” April stopped before she could finish her sentence and her eyes flew open. She exclaimed, “I hit you with that trophy! I’m so sorry! And...Ohmigod I kicked you in the nuts!” Her hands went over her mouth, clearly ashamed at what she’d done.

Donnie let out a small chuckle at her response. “It’s okay. I can’t blame you. I _did_ crawl in through your window!” He shook his head. “Of all the things I’ve always dreamed to experience as a human, _that_ was definitely _not_ one of them.” They both chuckled a bit after his comment. “It seems like poor design to leave something so fragile hanging out there in the open like that.”

April shook her head at his smile and gave him a once-over. “You poor thing, you’ve certainly been through the ringer tonight.”

Donatello looked down at himself in the light of the lamp and for the first time took in his haggard appearance. His black clothing was covered in grime and torn in several places and what looked like blood stains were soaked into his shirt. He reached up and felt the foreign mop of matted hair on his head, noting that it too seemed to be crusted with dried blood. Cricking his neck to the side, he stretched a sore muscle, and marveled at the strange feeling of his exposed back free of the weight of his shell, when suddenly a thought occurred to him. As he whipped up to look at April, it appeared that she had just wondered the same thing.

“Donnie, where’s _your_ body?” She asked.

Donatello felt a cold chill wash over him as the sinking realization set in. He had absolutely no idea. “I… I don’t know.” He finally admitted, unable to believe the thought had only just occured to him. He must have hit his head harder than he thought.

His brain immediately began scrambling through all of the worst-case scenarios. It could be crushed under a pile of rubble, it could be held captive by the enemy, hell there could be some guy running around town as himself right now!

Grasping at the wall, he clumsily pulled himself to his feet, stumbling forward when another wave of vertigo hit him. “We have to go look for it!”

April reached out to steady him with a hand on each shoulder. “Whoa there! you don’t _need_ to go _anywhere_. You can barely stand!”

“But, what if it’s still there? What if my body is trapped under rubble? What if… what if it’s dead?” A sense of dread sunk to the pit of his stomach at the thought.

“Don’t go jumping to conclusions. Let’s start with calling the guys, so they know you’re alive. They can help us.” April nodded, her bright blue eyes full of the confidence he was momentarily lacking. “Sit here, and I’ll go get my T-phone.” She pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and pointed to the seat in a way that said it wasn’t a suggestion.

She brusquely moved past him into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, depositing a bottle of water and and a banana onto the table as she passed him again.

“Here, I’m sure you need it.” She stated as he watched her head down the hallway to her bedroom. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, sinking into the hard wooden frame of the kitchen chair. Cracking open the seal on the water bottle, he downed the entire contents in one go, before eagerly peeling the banana.

April walked back into the living area, just as Donnie finished devouring the fruit. “I’ve got a text from Leo. He wants me to call him as soon as I’m awake.”

She fiddled with her phone, going into her contacts and scrolling to Leo’s picture as she spoke. “They must be worried sick! I should probably do the talking, because they’re not going to recognize your voice.”

Donnie nodded hesitantly. Despite his urge to dive into an explanation himself, it made perfect sense; Leo would be suspicious of a man’s voice he didn’t recognize calling from April’s phone.

She looked up to meet his eyes as she put the phone on speaker, the first distant ring feeling loud in the contrast of the quiet apartment.

“April?” Leonardo picked up after one ring.

“Leo, you’ll never guess—” The redhead responded, but he interrupted her.

“April, I need to tell you something. It’s about Donnie.”

“Yeah, I figured that’s why you were calling.”

“There was an accident,” Leo paused, his voice a little unsteady. “Donnie was captured and injured during an explosion when we were rescuing him.”

Donatello looked up at her, a sense of dread washing over him at this bit of information and could see the same worries mirrored on her face.

“Explosion?” April asked, as they both stared at the phone held out in her hand.

“He was knocked unconscious and hasn’t woken up yet, but we think the injuries are pretty minor so he should be ok. I just thought you’d… you know, want to know.” Leo finished weakly.

Donatello watched as April processed this bit of confusing information. _How is she not freaking out any more than that?_ It was requiring all of his self control to not burst out talking. He inched forward in his chair, leaning closer to the phone and opened his mouth to explain, but April held up a warning finger to allow her another minute before he chimed in.

“Wait, Leo. Donnie’s right here. He showed up at my place a little while ago… ” She paused and her gaze went blank. Donnie could practically hear the gears in her head spinning. He growled in frustration at the slow speed at which she was putting this all together. He couldn’t hold back a second longer.

“Leo, it’s me Donnie. Look, I know it doesn’t sound like me, but you gotta trust me.” He darted his eyes over to catch the annoyed glare that April was giving him, but continued on. “Are you telling us that you have my body there at the lair?”

“Wait, wait, what? Who’s that?” Leo’s voice went an octave lower, his suspicion of the other voice apparent.

“Leo, I know this is a lot to take in, but that person you have with you, that is _not_ me! I mean, technically, it’s my body... but, but its brain is someone else, I’m the real Donnie!” As he characteristically started to stumble over his words, he saw April raise her eyebrows in exasperation at him. He was obviously failing to make himself clear, having forgotten to start with the most important part.  

“I was brain-swapped with that Kraang switching device!” He finally spurted out in desperation to make the graveness of the situation clear.

There seemed to be a shocked sort of silence on the other end, and Donnie had to check to verify that the line hadn’t dropped.

Unable to wait for a response, Donnie spoke again. “Have you taken my body back to the lair? Has he seen how to get to it? Are you certain that other guy has been unconscious this whole time?”

“Ok just stop.” April finally cut in again and glared at Donnie, causing him to bite back his next question. “Leo, are you still with us? Because as crazy as he sounds right now, he’s telling the truth.”

“...So you’re telling me that Donatello was brain swapped with some other guy and that his body here is not him?” Leo spoke steady and slow, the polar opposite of his brother, as usual.

April nodded towards the small screen of her phone, as though he could see her. “Yes.”

“And there’s some random guy at your place claiming to be Donnie?” His skepticism was not lost on them.

April shook her head at the incredulity of the situation. “Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth.”

There was another pause on the other end, and Donnie could hardly sit still. What was Leo waiting for? They needed to figure out what to do now!

“April, how sure are you that the man at your place is really Donnie?” Leo’s voice had gotten quiet, as though by speaking softly Donnie wouldn’t hear everything he just said.

“He knew stuff that only Donnie would have been able to answer. And I know my empathic abilities are not perfect, but I feel like I would have sensed something if he was lying.”

Leo answered, his voice serious. “April, don’t take this the wrong way, but your best friend turned out to be a Kraang spy and you never saw it coming!”

“Hey that’s not fair!” Donnie chimed in, unable to sit by and listen to his brother make such accusations. “Irma was a Kraang from the start! She never had anything else to compare her to!”

April offered him a small smile at his gesture before speaking up, “He’s right Leo, this is totally different and I truly believe that he’s the real deal.”

Donnie nodded with a tight-lipped smile. _Damn right she believes me_. He figured it was about time he convinced his brother as well. “Leo, do you remember that time when you were 8, and you accidently broke Sensei’s favorite tea cup? You were so upset that I took the blame so you wouldn’t get in trouble.”

They could hear a quiet inhale of surprise. “Even I had forgotten about that.” Leo finally admitted.

Donnie nodded, feeling satisfied that they were all on the same page now.

“Alright, well you made a good case.” Leo started. “But we just carried your body back to the lair, does that mean the brain-switching thingy left this other guy’s consciousness inside of it?”

“What the hell?” Raphael’s angry voice could now be heard next to Leo’s. “Did you just say what I think you just said? Brain-switching?”

“Unfortunately you heard me right.” Leo’s voice was distant and it sounded like he covered the speaker for a moment while he most likely gave Raph the 20 sec review now that he’d joined the conversation.

“Raph is listening in now.” Leo explained, returning his attention to them. “We’re standing just outside the room where Donn-... er… your body is resting, Mikey is in there keeping watch over him.”

Donnie leaned in towards the phone again, eager to explain. “We can only assume that the switch took place before you rescued my body, and that the machine still works the same as before, which means that man’s consciousness is most likely inhabiting my body. Just like you and that Kraang, Raph - I switched bodies with someone.”

“So who the hell did we bring home?” Raph growled.

Donnie shrugged and glanced down at his wrist wraps and tattered black pants tucked into his tabi and then over to April to see if she could offer any insight. A shake of her head and raised eyebrows told him she had no idea.

“We don’t really know, we don’t recognize him. This guy’s dressed like a ninja… maybe he’s a Foot soldier?”

“What could Shredder have planned? Why would he have Baxter swapping your mind with a Foot soldier?” Leo pondered aloud on the other end.

This new bit of information perked Donnie to sit upright in his chair, raising one eyebrow. “So Shredder _was_ behind this?”

“Most assuredly. When we found you, you were being held captive in a warehouse by Baxter and a bunch of Foot.”

Finding this information disconcerting, Donatello carried on. “We obviously need to figure out what they are up to. But until then, I think maybe you two should tie this guy up or something. You can’t let him leave the lair and give away our location.”

“I think Leo and I can handle a single Foot soldier using _your_ body like a puppet.” Raph taunted.

Donatello glared at the phone, finding the none-too-subtle jab at his physique grating. If April had picked up on it, she was polite enough to pretend not to notice.

“No. We can find out more about their plans if we play along.” Leo spoke with this authoritative tone, as though it was a decision he had already made.

Beside him April shook her head, obviously just as uneasy about Leo’s plan as himself.

“Just be careful Leo, we have no idea who this guy is or what he’s capable of.” She said.

“That’s something I very much intend to find out.” Leo responded, his voice suddenly much quieter.

Donnie grabbed the phone from April’s hand to move the speaker closer. “I don’t like this. Shredder is up to something. They went out of their way to kidnap and swap bodies with one of us. It’s not safe. You need to restrain my body before he wakes up!”

Impatiently leaning in closer to the phone, Donnie glanced at April in panic when he didn’t get an answer and called out to his brother. “Leo? You’ve got to make sure he doesn’t leave! He can’t figure out where we live or he’ll give away our location!”

After a moment of silence, his brother’s next response brought him no sense of comfort. “He’s waking up.”

Both April and Donnie stopped breathing and remained completely still, waiting expectantly for whatever sound would come out of the speaker next that would give them a clue as to what was happening on the other end.

After a few muffled clicks in the thick silence came Leo’s wary voice.

“Donnie?” they heard him say, though it was clear he was not talking to them.

* * *

 

“Donnie?” Leo asked cautiously while moving into the room where they had laid his brother to recover. He covertly carried the phone in his hand, allowing the line to stay open and  hopefully share some of the impending conversation.

Donatello’s body was flat on his shell, scrapes and scratches on his face stood out as a bright red against his olive tone. His eyes had flickered half open for a second, but then closed again. From his perch, guarding the doorway, Leonardo inspected his plastron slowly moving up and down to the rhythm of his breathing.

Suddenly, Donatello’s eyes shot open and he bolted upright in bed. His head whipped to one side, seeing Mikey leap out of his chair in the corner and slowly scanning his eyes across the room, taking in his surroundings with the calculated efficiency of a trained soldier. He stopped briefly on the small bedside table housing a pile of books and some glass containers of ointments and antiseptics before landing on the two eldest brothers just inside the doorway.

“Donnie? Are you ok?” Raphael asked, understanding that the plan was to play along with the ruse so as to milk this intruder for information. They hadn’t had the chance to pass along the message to Mikey, but Leo knew that if he had to act fast, Raphael would follow his lead in this situation.

“What? Oh. Yeah, I think so.” Donnie –or at least the Donnie sitting on the bed– responded simply. Looking down at his arms he wiggled his fingers around as if checking for any injuries, or possibly testing out the feeling of having only 3 digits.

“I’m so glad you’re awake!” Mikey exclaimed, before they could probe any further. He ran over to Donnie’s side, not even noticing the reach of Leo’s hand to prevent him from getting too close, and wrapped his injured brother in a bone crushing bear hug.

Leo quickly exchanged looks with Raphael who gave the slightest of nods, indicating that he was ready to jump if this guy tried anything.

“Oh man! We were so worried about you! Are you okay?” Mikey talked into his brother’s plastron as he continued to squeeze him tightly.

“I will be when I can breathe again.” Donatello gruffled from under the arms of the youngest turtle, but there was no humor in his remark.

Mikey’s cheeks flushed pink and he let go, releasing a little giggle as he did. “Whoops, sorry bro.” He planted himself just beside the head of the bed, a relieved smile on his features.

Leo watched Donatello closely, while putting on a facade of calm. “You got roughed up pretty good in that explosion, how are you feeling?” He tried his best to sound casual. “Can I get you anything? Water? Pain killer?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” The lanky turtle replied, in a voice that sounded just like Donnie, which made it that much harder to process that this was not their brother.

“Do you remember what happened?” Raph asked.

Donnie reached up and rubbed the side of his head where a large welt had formed. “It’s all a little hazy. How long was I out?”

Something about the way he answered felt off. Leo couldn’t decide if it was because he was already onto him, or if it was something else.

“Not long.” Raph replied. “But your girlfriend has been calling in a panic.”

Leo shot Raph a sidelong look. What did he think he was up to? Was he trying to test this guy?

Mikey let out a little chuckle at Raph’s dig.

“Oh. Well I suppose I should probably let her know that I’m ok.” Donatello replied too calmly, his eyes searching Raphael’s.

“Yeah,” Raph commented, turning briefly to give Leo a meaningful look.

“Ha! Yeah, you better go call your GIRLfriend!” Mikey teased from beside Donatello, the merriment still in his voice. “Man, you must really be feeling lousy if you’re just going to let him tease you about April like that!” Mikey stood up and smacked the top of Donatello’s shell as he giggled.

“Heh. What can I say, It’s been a long day.” Donatello shrugged and smiled in a way that looked rather forced.

Leo glanced over at Raph and could see any hint of doubt that he’d had about whether this was Donnie flit away. The real Donnie would never just let that slide. At the very least, he’d be blushing furiously at his mistake.

“April and Donnie- sitting in a tree!” Mikey sang with a bounce of his rump onto the mattress, unknowingly sitting right next to the impostor. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

Leo saw the flicker of irritation cross the fake Donatello’s face. With Mikey completely in the dark about what was going on, he’d feel more at ease if they could move him further from this unknown threat and out of harm's way.

“Mikey, why don’t you go get Donnie some water.” Raph suggested.

"Yeah, good idea. He must be parched." Leo agreed with a nod, thankful for Raph’s quick thinking.

“Sure Raph,” Mikey snickered. “Buuuuut: First, comes LOVE! Then, comes Marriage!” The youngest continued his song, completely oblivious to the tension in the room.

Leonardo watched intently as the tall turtle rolled his eyes at the orange banded annoyance and stretched his arms out in front of him as though testing out stiff muscles. He slowly rotated his head and cocked it to one side, making a satisfying crack. Every one of his movements was calculated and unnerving to watch.

Swinging his long legs off the side of the bed he went to stand.

Raph stepped forward, his arms outstretched. “Whoa, where you goin’?”

“I was just getting up to stretch my legs.” He narrowed his gaze to Raph as though to challenge him. “Plus, I should probably call _April_ back. I’m sure she’s worried sick.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Leo added, stepping up beside Raph. “You should probably take it easy.”

Donatello’s eyes narrowed as he watched the interaction between the two oldest brothers. Perhaps in his own body this man would have been better at hiding his reactions, but as it was, the realization dawning on his face was as plain as the freckles on Mikey’s cheeks.

The jig was up. Both parties silently faced off to one another, waiting to see who was going to make the first move. Mikey’s insistent singing had started to fade as he finally picked up on the tension between them.

“Hey you guys, what’s going on?” He asked naively, looking from the serious face of one brother to the other. Leonardo slowly made a move for his blades.

Donatello sprung to his feet and in one fluid movement snatched an unsuspecting Mikey, dragging him off the edge of the bed and pulling his shell back against him. Grabbing one of the bottles off the nightstand, he struck it down on the table’s edge, breaking off the bottom half to form a makeshift weapon. The iodine from within spilled out onto the floor, staining it a blood red like some kind of dark omen. He tightened his grip on his hostage, locking his hands behind his back, and pressed the shard of broken bottle up underneath the young mutant’s chin.

At the same time, Raphael and Leonardo had both drawn their weapons and stood in stance, prepared to attack. The phone fell forgotten to the ground, clicking off when it landed.

* * *

 

Several blocks away and trapped in a body that was not his own, Donatello stared down at the phone as the muted voices were replaced with a dial tone.

“What happened?!” Donnie shouted at the phone, as though the offending object could answer him. “He knows, doesn’t he? Somehow he’s caught on that we’re on to him!”

He looked up at April and the worried creases in her forehead did not make him feel better. “We don’t know that for sure. Maybe Leo had a good reason to hang up?” she said.

“Ugh! Why was Raph questioning him? It made him suspicious.” He threw his hands up in the air, but his sight never left the phone. “And was that glass breaking? That was glass breaking wasn’t it? ARGH! I knew we should have restrained him!”

April shook her head silently in response, and he felt a small wave of embarrassment for acting so hysterical. She didn’t have any answers either and was most likely just as confused and worried as himself.

Despite the other line having gone dead, April still held the phone out between them. A quiet moment went by as they both mentally urged Leonardo to call them back and let them know that all was ok.

“I have to go there!” Donatello stood up, pushing his chair back, the fast movement causing him to sway a little off balance.

“Donnie, what are you going to do?” April asked, trying to stop him from moving towards the door.

“There’s a Foot soldier in the lair, possibly attacking my brothers using _my_ body!” He exclaimed, and even swimming in adrenaline he could barely manage walking and talking at the same time.

“We don’t even know what kind of threat he poses!” April tried to rationalize.

“If Shredder is behind this it can’t be good. I have to help them!”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” April asked, as she held tightly onto his arm to help keep him from swaying.

Donnie paused and his eyes narrowed in thought.

“Maybe you’re right. We don’t know if this brain…” He gestured up at his cranium for added emphasis. “...will be able to retain some of the memories formed during my time using it. Who knows if once we’re switched back, this guy might be able to remember on a subconscious level, some of the things I’ve seen and heard? And if I go to the lair… we can’t take that risk!”

April looked at him, her face screwed up in confusion. “I was thinking a little more basic than that. You look like you’re about to fall over! I don’t think it would be wise for you to go running all over the city right now.”

Donatello looked down at his hand now gripping the back of the chair for leverage, his left leg shaking unsteadily. He had not realized how much he needed the support.

“I can’t just sit here!” he whined more than protested, aware of his current state but still unable to be still.

“Calm down. Leo and Raph are aware of the situation, I’m sure the guys can handle themselves.” April said, a little less convincingly than she’d probably intended.

“I’m gonna try calling back.” Donnie said stubbornly, snagging the phone from her palm and hitting redial.

 

* * *

 

A distant part of Leo’s mind was vaguely aware of the T-phone vibrating and skidding around noisily on the floor, but the scene before him took his full attention.

“Donnie?! What are you doing?” Mikey cried out, struggling against the arms holding him in a lock.

“It’s not him, Mikey! Donnie’s mind was switched with a Foot soldier!” Leo hollered out.

Mikey’s large blue eyes shot around the room in panic and he winced when the broken glass pierced into the soft skin of his neck. “What do you mean??”

“Not the brightest of the bunch, is he?” The pseudo-Donatello rumbled out, causing Mikey to freeze. Leo felt a shiver at the tone of his voice, the hate filling Donatello’s words and making them unrecognizable. “It was the girlfriend thing, huh? That gave me away? Should have known with freaks like you.” He chuckled to himself and twisted the glass to press more into Mikey. The remains of the broken bottle seemed to slice into his own hand, one red droplet trickling down to his wrist, but he didn’t even flinch.

“Let. Him. Go.” Leonardo ordered, his katana at the ready.

“Oh, I don’t think so. I think the two of you are going to back out of this room slowly before I gut little… Mikey here.”

“Don’t you dare hurt him!” Raphael shouted, his face an angry red to match his mask.

“Well that depends on if you cooperate.” Donnie took a step forward yanking Mikey along with him. When the other two didn’t budge, he cocked his head to one side and began to cut up along Mikey’s freckled jawline. “He should count himself lucky, I typically like to start by slicing off ears.”

“OwHowOW!” Tears welled up in Michelangelo’s eyes. “Donnie, please don’t.” He whispered out in a sob.

“Haven’t you been listening, ‘Brother’? Donnie’s not here right now!” His face was so close to Mikey’s he was practically talking right into the side of his head. Donatello’s gaze shot up, a look on his face that none of the brothers had ever seen him make before. “Now drop your weapons and back out of the room!”

Leo faltered and looked over to his red-banded brother, seeing his eyes shot wide open in panic. Who _was_ this guy? It was very clear he was no ordinary Foot soldier, he clearly had a special kind of training that went beyond what they typically dealt with. Reluctantly, Leo slowly began lowering his weapons to the floor and gave Raph a silent order to follow suit.

“When I get a hold of you—“ Raphael’s angry threats were cut off by Donatello’s voice.

“I said, NOW!”

“Raph, do it!” Leo ordered.

The taut muscles in Raphael’s arms twitched, but finally he let go. The sai hit the ground with a couple of loud clanks.

“Now move!” Donatello ordered again, pushing the youngest brother along in front of him like a shield. “Don’t make me do something you’ll regret.”

Leonardo looked to Raph and gestured for him to leave the room first as he slowly followed him out. Taking precise backwards steps, never once letting his eyes off the impostor holding his little brother prisoner.

Mikey, who seemed so caught up in his emotions and confused as to what was happening, was basically being dragged along. Leo watched as he attempted to twist out of his captor’s embrace, but any small movement was causing the shard of glass to dig deeper into his neck. A trickle of blood could be seen flowing down over his shoulder and dripping down the back of his arm.

The group stepped out of the room and into the wide tunnel that functioned as a hallway. The intruder in Donatello’s body quickly scanned over the area, no doubt looking for an exit. With little effort he pulled Mikey along like a rag doll, and barked out orders.

“You two - back up against the far wall and lay face down!”

“If you think I’m going to just let you walk out of here, you have another thing coming!” Raph hollered, his hands balled up into fists.

“And if you think I won’t kill this little one, then you’re about to be surprised. The only one I’m required to leave for Shredder is the rat.” He rattled off the words in the loving voice of their brother. The same voice that liked to talk about science and theories and babble on about April. The effect was almost more unnerving than the words themselves.

As if wanting to remind them that he was serious, the man dug in with the crude shiv again, causing Mikey to let out a yelp and the flow of blood from the wound to intensify.

Leo could feel his heart racing as he watched the scene play out before him. There was no way this was happening. Both he and Raphael had yet to budge, not knowing what their next move was.

“I said, LAY DOWN!” The intruder commanded again.

“Just do it, Raph.” Leo muttered quietly to his brother beside him as they both slowly crouched to the floor and laid out onto their plastrons, awkwardly twisting their chins up to keep an eye on Mikey.

“Now you two are going to lay there like good little boys while your brother here shows me the door.” He cackled while he spoke, dragging Mikey with him backwards down the hall.

“I don’t like this, Leo.” Raph whispered from beside him.

“We don’t have a choice, we can’t risk Mikey’s safety.” Leo locked his eyes with the youngest of the brothers, trying his best to silently warn him not to try anything stupid.

But it did not appear that Mikey was reading his signals. Leo could see it in his eyes, that sudden look of determination that told him Mikey was about to do just that. As the two approached the end of the hall, the captor paused to scan the room for a sign of the exit and Mikey made his move.

With a kick of his leg he met the front of Donatello’s shin with his heel. The taller turtle recoiled in a holler of pain, his grip shifting just enough to give Mikey a little wiggle room. Mikey twisted, jabbing an elbow into Donnie’s abdomen as he slipped under the arm holding the shard.

For a split second Leo thought he was going to make it, but just as he and Raph were getting to their feet to help, Donatello’s other arm snatched Mikey and pulled him back. Mikey gave a cry of pain at the tip of the glass digging into his neck and Leo froze.

“You thought I was bluffing?” Donnie’s voice growled, wavering with rage, and all Leo could do was watch as it all unravelled before his eyes as if in slow-motion; the attacker’s fist came down in a wide arc, the shard of glass he was using as a weapon slicing the soft side of Mikey’s neck, and across the front of his scapula. Mikey’s eyes winced and his pupils dilated to pinpoints, and then he fell forward, tossed aside like a discarded newspaper.

Leo screamed out as he watched, his voice echoing alongside Raph’s, “NO!”

Mikey hit the floor, the shard of glass falling from where it had caught on his plastron to clink innocently on the floor beside him. His hands clasped at his neck, bright red seeping from between his fingers, and the intruder turned to make a mad dash towards the exit. Both Raph and Leo scrambled to a sprint.

Raph reached Mikey first, feverishly pressing his hand to the wound, and with a quick glance Leo shot right past. As overwhelming as the impulse was to be by Mikey’s side right now, another part of him knew he had to stop the intruder from making it out. Mikey would be alright, he thought--hoped--begging for it to be true.

His moment of hesitation had given the man a dangerous lead. Leo darted down the hall and into the common room where he could already see Donnie’s lanky figure leaping across the couch area like he was running hurdles. There was no denying that Donatello’s body had been injured in the commotion of the rescue earlier that day, but not even that seemed to hinder the man, who by all accounts should be tripping over his unfamiliar giant feet.

As Leo chased after him, a thought came swirling into his mind; ultimately this was his brother’s body and he needed to find a way to stop the crazy villainous intruder while inflicting the least amount of damage. Exactly how he was going to manage that was still a mystery.

Eying some gear left in a pile, Leo scooped up the grappling gun, took aim and fired, all while barely slowing down. The metal hook flew through the air and hit its mark, connecting with his brother’s knee, tangling around his long legs and causing him to fall forward just before the turnstiles.

Tossing the gun aside, Leo continued his sprint across the room, catching up to Donatello just as he’d gotten back to his feet kicking off the coil of rope. He stood at full height and whipped around to face Leo, brandishing the grappling hook as a new weapon. Leo skidded to a halt in front of him, looking up into his menacing eyes. He seemed even taller than usual.

Leo took an attack stance, realizing his katana were still laying on the floor in the other room. He flicked his wrist to release the small kunai that was tucked into his wraps, which seemed laughably short. He held the blade tight in his grip, calculating his next move, a task that seemed all the more improbable as he was going up against a guy shielding himself behind his brother’s body, a hook in one hand and murder in his eyes. His chest heaved as he fumbled in his mind, wishing he had something better than a knife for this purpose.

Before he could form a plan, the fake Donnie lunged, swinging the grappling hook forward, narrowly avoiding Leo’s head and forcing him to dive to the side. Leo spun in time to see his attacker elegantly maneuver the hook and rope through the air like some sort of morose dance before launching it back at Leo. He dodged once, twice and then again, the metal singing as it wooshed past his ears. The hook caught the tails of his bandana and Leo’s head twisted in a violent lurch, his neck giving a nefarious crack, before the fabric ripped. He barely managed to roll through his fall before closely avoiding another swing of the hook.

But next time he was prepared. Leo snatched the grappling hook out of the air as it flew at him, and quickly attempted to wrench it out of the other’s hands. One tug and Leo looked up in shock at the face of his lean brother. The man behind it kept it from budging with little effort while returning an evil smirk. Leo never knew the strength that Donnie was capable of possessing. With another tug the man yanked it back, pulling Leo forward as it snapped out of his grip, one sharp tip catching his thumb in the process. Before he could regain his balance, Leo felt a sweep of legs knock him in the ankle and he plummeted to the ground.

As soon as his shell hit the floor Leo used the momentum to execute a backflip to bring him back up to his feet. He made a stance, expecting another throw of the hook, but was quickly reminded of the intruder’s number one priority when he instead saw him hopping over the turnstiles and once again making a run for it.

With two great jumps and a leap, Leo dove out into the tunnel after him, tackling him to the ground. They landed in a pile of green limbs, the metal hook sliding out of range onto the subway tracks while they both wrestled to break free from the other on the platform floor. Leo managed to get an arm around his neck and attempted to immobilize him as he writhed against his grip, grunting and growling like a wild dog.

It appeared hopeless; he was hardly a match against his strength, skill and determination. From the way this guy wasn’t holding back, Leo could tell he had no qualms about killing him or his brothers. Whoever he was, he was frighteningly good, and ruthless, and he wasn’t taking prisoners.

The wrestling continued, fists and elbows striking each other as they moved in one furious tangle across the floor. Swimming in adrenaline, Leo made a sinking realization: there was no way he could win this fight without inflicting at least some damage to his brother’s body.

“Ufff” Leo exhaled in a puff as he was knocked to the floor yet again. But before the assailant could land his next blow, Leo kicked high, catching the underside of Donnie’s chin and knocking him back a few steps, enough to leave Leo some time to recover.

The two turtles righted themselves to face off, slowly moving in a large circle. Leo surveyed every move the man made, trying to cut off his escape. His olive green complexion was mottled with dirt and blood amongst the fresh bruises. And his brown eyes, which somehow seemed darker than normal, leered down at him. The adversary moved casually, wiping away a trickle of blood from his beak with the back of his hands.

Leo pulled out his kunai again and brandished it out in front of him, sweeping it through the air in preparation, and was met with a cold laugh.

“And what are you going to do with that?” The menacing words poured from Donatello’s mouth, his lips curling up as his eyes bore ruthlessly into Leo’s. “Are you really going to use that against your _brother_?” He challenged and stepped closer. “Go ahead.”

Without a warning, he lunged forward and Leo had to hop out of the way, careful to not slice into the other’s arm, pretty certain that this guy would gladly give Donnie a wound to the side. The enemy carried on with his laughter, delighted to have called out Leo’s bluff.

He charged again, knowing now that he was untouchable, grabbing Leo at the shoulders and shoving him up against the wall.

“You can’t even do what’s necessary to save yourself!” His cackle echoed off the dingy tunnel walls.

The back of Leo’s skull connected with the hard brick. For a few seconds he saw only stars, and felt himself droop to the ground. Blinking, he frowned at the face of his own kind-hearted brother looming over him, afraid it might be his last sight.

There was a blur of red, and Donnie’s scrunched up face was knocked to the side, his voice roaring out in a mixture of pain and anger. Dropping his hold on Leo, he turned to face the new threat. It was Raph looking furious and for a moment Leo feared the worst. If Raph was here, then either Mikey was alright, or…

Leo had the sudden urge to run to Mikey, but his whole world spun around him like he was in a merry-go-round. He shoved his own shell against the wall in an effort to hold himself upright. Shaking away the swirling confusion, he turned his unfocused gaze on the loud fight taking place before him.

“Mikey’s alright!” Raph yelled over his shoulder in a moment’s pause, which earned him an elbow to the gut, but it helped Leo collect himself.

Raphael must have gotten his opponent good with that initial blow to the head as the latter seemed to be stumbling, his rebuttals slower and more clunky than before as Raph’s incessant attacks rained down on him. Landing blows left and right, the blunt end of the handles connected in sickening fwaps repeatedly against Donnie’s flesh. It seemed to be working, the stranger was backing down in retreat. Leo fumbled about looking for a way to help, for a brief moment feeling compelled to fight Raph off of Donnie instead of the other way around.

A low kick managed to get through, tripping the taller turtle and causing him to land on his shell with a crack.

“Raph! Don’t hurt him!” Leo hollered out as Raph seemed ready to charge, eyes blazing.

At his warning, Raph froze and looked down at the face of their brother. He was breathing heavily as he lay on the ground, a gash in his cheek bleeding profusely. Raph faltered, sai held aloft and in that brief moment of distraction, the downed turtle seemed to revive as though jolted from his daze. His foot shot upwards like a hammer, ramming Raphael in the gut and knocking him backwards before Leo could move in to help immobilize him. With another clumsier flip, the impostor was on his feet again, relentless, sprinting down the stretch of tunnels outside the lair.

“Don’t let him escape!” Leo called out, pushing off the wall, adrenaline coursing through his aching body. If the mole succeeded in his mission to get out, their home was as good as gone.

“How the hell can we stop this guy if we can’t hurt him?!” Raph cried out as they ran. That was a good question, but right now they could do nothing but think on their feet. The fake-Donnie was hurt, but so were they, and he had a head start.

Down the tunnel, Leo saw Donnie’s silhouette stop in front of a shadow.

The sight of Splinter’s figure lit a glimmer of hope in Leo’s hurting chest.

“Sensei!” he hollered out into the tunnel. He could barely make out Splinter’s face, looking his son’s beaten body up and down. When they finally caught up to them, the fake-Donnie turned his gaze over his shoulder to see them arrive, feet spread apart and knees flexed as though he could barely hold his own. Breathing heavily, he swayed, looking from Splinter to them and back at Splinter, no doubt trying to think of a way out.

“It’s not Donnie, Sensei! Stop him!” Leo told Splinter, not taking his eyes off the interloper in his brother’s body.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Raph provide a back-up nod to his words, eyes intent on their opponent.

He was cornered now. And Leo knew what a wild animal was capable of when cornered. For a few seconds they all just stood, measuring each other. Then the impostor charged.

Leo sprung forth, Raph following suit, trying to stop him before he reached Splinter, fearing their sensei might not be able to react in time to the sight of his own son attacking him.

But Splinter did react, moving to meet Donatello’s charging form. He moved with the speed that was characteristic of him, and in a split-second, their brother’s body collapsed on the ground before Leo and Raph could even get there.

Splinter looked down, cane in hand, at the body of his son splayed atop the train tracks in an ungraceful heap. Catching his breath, Leo watched as his father approached Donatello and crouched beside him.

“My son?” He asked quietly to anyone willing to answer.

Leo leaned down next to Splinter to check Donatello’s pulse and verify that he was indeed incapacitated. “It’s not your son, Sensei.” He turned to explain to their father. “Donnie’s mind was swapped with some kind of a crazy Foot soldier.”

Raphael nodded from beside them, rolling his shoulders as he spoke. “It’s his body, but there’s some whack-job inside it instead of him.”

“I have not been gone for more than 20 minutes.” Splinter asked, clearly confused, the bag full of medicinal herbs that he’d gone to collect from his garden on the ground to one side. “How did this happen?”

“It happened sometime before we rescued him today, master Splinter,” Leo explained. “We unknowingly carried the intruder right into our home.”

“And we need to get him outta here before he wakes up again!” Raphael added, tossing Leo the rope from the discarded grappling hook. “Here, we can at least bind his hands.”

Leonardo looked down at his brother’s bruised and bloodied body, feeling ashamed for having had to inflict so much damage. The real Donnie would not be pleased. With extreme care, he rolled him over onto his front so that he could pull back his wrists behind him and began tying the knot.

Suddenly reminded of what had started the fight, Leo looked up to his brother in red. “Raph, how is Mikey doing?”

“Michelangelo?” Splinter inquired, a hint of worry on his voice.

“This asshole took him hostage, Sensei.” Raph gestured down to Donnie’s prone form. “Got in a few good cuts, but not nearly as bad as it could’ve been.” He turned back to Leo to finish answering his question. “He lost a lot of blood and was feeling pretty woozy so I told him to hold back. He should be fine, but let’s not take too long.”

Cinching off the last of the rope, Leonardo stood to face his father, hanging his head in shame. “It all happened so fast, Sensei. April called with a man at her place that claimed to be Donatello, trapped in the body of a Foot Soldier. We didn’t think he’d be this much of a threat, we wanted to play along and figure out what they were up to. But, we didn’t really get a chance to prepare before he woke up.”

Splinter leaned down to pick up his bag from the ground and answered with a serene nod of his head and a light hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Not all plans work out as we hope, my son. Be thankful we now have things back in our control.”

Leo looked up at his mentor and nodded.

“Well it’s definitely clear now.” Raphael huffed. “That guy at April’s must really be Donnie, and this guy…” He used his toes to forcefully nudge the unconscious form of his shackled brother lying on the floor beside him. “...cannot stay here.”

“Raphael!” Splinter scolded. “This man is clearly an enemy, but that is still your brother’s body he is inhabiting, we must take care to not allow him to be harmed any further.”

“Hai Sensei.” Raph looked down at his feet.

“Meanwhile, you are correct. we must move him now before he wakes. I will attend to Michelangelo’s injuries, but you should alert April and your brother, perhaps they will come up with a place to keep him for now.”

Raph volunteered to keep watch over the prisoner so Leo could follow Sensei back to the lair, and they both let out a breath of relief when they spotted the youngest brother lying awake on one of the living room benches. He smiled when he saw them, holding a bloodied cloth tight against his neck.

A quick survey of his injuries revealed that the spy had made it a point to inflict only a superficial wound, causing just enough blood that attending to his injuries would provide a distraction for him to get away. Raph had helped him stop most of the bleeding with some pressure on the wound, but it was clear that he would need stitches, something he was certain Splinter could handle on his own.

Seeing Mikey for himself, and with the assurance that he was  “totally going to be fine”, Leo felt a new sense of urgency to focus on his next task. He quickly collected his katana from where he’d deposited them earlier. Patting his belt for his phone, he was reminded that he had dropped it during the initial commotion and when he finally found it, pulling it out from where it had landed under the bed, he saw that he had 17 missed calls from April’s number.

Not looking forward to the conversation he was about to have, he let out a sigh and pressed the small phone icon next to her name.

 

* * *

 

**End Chapter 2 - It Hits the Fan**

**A/N: Phew! Thanks so much for reading! This chapter turned out to be a bit epically long, but it just didn’t feel right to break it up. Also, this got a little intense towards the end, but have no worries, this is an Apriltello fic at its heart and there will be plenty of fluff to even out the drama and angst!**

**Please leave a review and tell us what you thought: Were you expecting Donnie’s body to be inhabited by a bad guy? Is there anything you are hoping to see in this fic?**

**Thanks again for reading!** **  
** **your co-authors: Queequegg and Poleepkwana (aka Suthnmeh)**

Illustration by [Suthnmeh](http://suthnmeh.tumblr.com)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3 - Out of Body Experience

  **Chapter 3 - Out of Body Experience**

Back at April’s apartment, Donatello was pacing nervously around the small kitchen table, his attention never leaving the silent phone that sat in the center. After trying unsuccessfully many times to call all three brothers, it was becoming obvious that something was not right.

“Still nothing. Oh man, oh man…” Donnie exhaled.

“Please sit down, Donnie, you look like you’re going to fall on your face!” April pleaded again.

“What were they thinking?!” He exclaimed, reluctantly letting himself slump onto the nearby couch. “Why is Leo so stubborn? We tried to warn him it was a bad idea!”

Just then the phone finally rang. April’s playful midi-file ringtone filled the room and Leo’s ‘Ichiban turtle’ avatar lit up on the screen, both seeming too light-hearted in contrast to the dread that filled the air.

They both jumped up, lunging for the phone left sitting on the table. He made it to her side as April snatched it up and switched it to speaker, holding the device between them. “Leo, is everything alright?”

“We had a… a bit of a tussle, but the situation is under control now.” Leo said in his best stoic voice.

They stood around the open phone between them and gave a sigh of relief, but Donnie’s brow was still scrunched up in concern. “What do you mean ‘tussle’?” He asked.

“Let’s just say it didn’t take long for your body-snatcher to give up on the act.” Leonardo replied.

Donnie let out a long sigh, wondering just what had transpired and how beat up his body might be at this point, before he heard Leo speak up again.

“This guy is no ordinary Foot soldier, Donnie, he’s… he’s dangerous.” The line went quiet after he spoke. A sense of foreboding washed over Donatello.

“Is everyone alright?” April asked, a hitch in her voice causing her to sound afraid of the answer.

“We managed.” Leo coughed as though not really wanting to talk any more on the subject over the phone. “Anyways, we need to get him out of here. He’s unconscious, tied up and ready for transport. Any idea what we should do with him?”

In the short amount of time that they had waited to hear back from his brothers, Donatello had already considered at least part of this answer. They would haveto move him, the risk of him escaping the lair and divulging their secret location was too high. And between the earlier explosion during the rescue mission and now the ‘tussle,’ he was fairly certain that his body would require medical attention. They would need somewhere to temporarily keep this guy while they scoped out the brain-switching device and got it operational. And now that he knew where his body was, he had no intention to let it far from his sight.

First and foremost, he already had a plan to keep this guy unconscious for a while and broke into an explanation. “Leo, in my lab, the third drawer down on the center of the far wall. You’ll see some syringes marked ‘sedative’. Give him one of those, the alcohol wipes are in a box on the counter above the drawer. We can’t risk him waking up as you move him.”

Leo released a scoff on the other end of the line, clearly a bit taken back by this unfamiliar Donnie barking orders at him. “Gee Don, anything else I can do for you? Before I lug your body across the city again?”

“Actually,” He answered. “I’m going to need you to bring a few supplies.”  
  


* * *

 

April shook her head in defeat. Even after all the times she’d asked him to stay seated, Donnie still paced around the small kitchen while he talked. It was a nervous habit that he was completely unable to sit still once his stress hit a certain level. Despite the fact that the body he was in seemed to be limping in pain, he kept moving around the room. He rattled off a list of supplies for his brothers to bring along. The list mostly consisted of medical equipment and a few items that she wasn’t even sure what they were.

Once he’d gotten that out of the way, he went over a brief plan of bringing his body to April’s place to patch-up before prying his brother for more information over what transpired during the 6 min that they had been unable to reach them. April was trying her best to interpret his one-sided version of the conversation, but all she had really been able to grasp from Donnie’s reactions was that it had not been good. A bit of news seemed to shock him enough that he had stopped pacing at a spot in the kitchen. Though he kept his voice low, she could hear him ask “how bad was it?” and “Is he okay?”.

She continued to eavesdrop while the sense of dread slowly filled the pit of her stomach. Until finally, with a sigh he hung up and slid into the nearest kitchen chair, wincing a little as he moved.

“This is a disaster.” He mumbled to himself while leaning his forehead into his hands, propped up on the table by his elbows. Peering over to April from between flayed fingers he added, “Leo finally admitted that the guy held Mikey hostage and hurt him bad enough to require stitches. But he wasn’t really up to sharing much more. From the sounds of it, this guy really shook them up.”

“Oh no.” April gasped quietly and reached over to rub his shoulder in a consoling manner. Her touch was soft, but she saw him flinch. As much as he was trying to ignore it with a brave face, it was clear that the body he was currently inhabiting was in rough shape.

Sensing his discomfort, April offered in her best mother hen type voice, “It’s going to take a little while for them to collect everything and get him over here. Let’s get _you_ patched up while we wait.”

“We don’t even know what we’re going to do with him once they get here! We can’t keep him sedated forever and it’s not like we should be walking an assassin into your apartment.” Donnie leaned back and raised his hands in defeat.

“Well, maybe we can find a place to keep him down in the store...or the storage area in the basement?” April suggested, trying her best to sound optimistic.

“Yeah, maybe.” Donnie mumbled.

“We can brainstorm while we fix you up,” April gestured for him to stand and follow her. “C’mon, we can’t let this guy die while you’re still stuck inside him.”

Donnie slowly stood back up, wincing at her comment. “There’s got to be a better way to say that.”

April shook her head at him and put an arm around his middle, slowly leading him down the hall and through her room to the attached bathroom.

“Can you tell where else you’re injured?” She asked with concern in her voice as she plopped him down on the edge of the bathtub before digging the first aid kit out from under her sink.

“I don’t know, everywhere?” He deadpanned. “I don’t think this guy is in very good shape.” He rolled his shoulders, to test his muscles.

“Take your shirt off.” She ordered while digging out supplies from her kit and setting them out on the counter.

“Oh.” Donnie sounded surprised by her request. “Ok.”

April noticed his cheeks flush as he reached down for the hem of his shirt and paused. She could only assume that the idea of removing clothes for the first time was probably a weird feeling, after all he regularly walked around in the buff. But it wasn’t like he needed to feel embarrassed, he wasn’t even in his own body.

After a brief moment of hesitation he reluctantly pulled the black shirt over his head, grimacing as it seemed to stick and pull in places. April held a cotton cloth and soaked it with some iodine, watching as the shirt was pulled awkwardly over the man’s head. He was definitely beaten up. It was no wonder that he felt sore all over. There appeared to be at least three good cuts around his abdomen that had bled a bit before it had dried the shirt to the wound.

It was also abundantly clear that this man was the exact opposite of out-of-shape; his body was chiseled and each muscle was prominent. She doubted he had more than 5% body fat.

Knowing what they knew now, it made sense. If this guy was some kind of a super-ninja, they should have expected nothing less. It really spoke to how injured he was, if he was feeling this weak.

Donnie managed to get the shirt over his head, but caught his collar on his ear for a moment, obviously not quite used to the technique. He tossed the offending object beside him on the floor and glared at it. Looking back he met April’s eye as she looked him over.

As she watched his muscles flex in front of her and the soft brown color of his concerned eyes, she had to admit, the guy wasn’t bad looking. There were certainly worse bodies he could have been stuck with. Realizing that he’d seen her staring, she quickly darted back to the subject of his injuries.

“You’ve definitely got some shrapnel over here and a few bad cuts. Looks like this guy lost a fight.” She gestured at the angry marks, noticing several scars mixed in with the fresh wounds. “Apparently this was not his first fight either.” She reached out and gently traced one of the more prominent ones.

Donatello looked down at his own chest as best he could, but then stood up to get a better view in the mirror. As he stood, April moved over to the other side of the small room to give him the space.

“Yeah… I’d say this guy trains more than he sleeps, judging by the looks of him.” Donatello added while examining his own body in the mirror. “Guess I was wrong about him being out of shape.”

April chuckled and Donnie turned around with an inquisitive look at the sound. “We ‘mere mortals’ wear out a little faster than you mutagen-enhanced guys do.” She commented in a teasing tone.

“I’m going to have to remind Leo to go easy on you and Casey, because you two are obviously keeping up with us even better than we thought you were.”

“Much appreciated.” April winked. “Now this is probably going to sting a little, but I’m going to pull this little bit of metal out from this wound and get these other ones cleaned up.”

“Ow!” Donnie let out a startled gasp before he could stop himself.

“Sorry!” April’s hand jumped back from him.

“No, no. You’re good. Just, wasn’t quite ready for that. Go ahead.” Donnie grimaced at how un-manly that must have sounded.

After she was able to pull the small pieces of metal free from his skin, April continued to clean and work away all the dried blood to get a better idea of how bad the damage was. Donatello gripped the countertop in front of him, surprised at how much the seemingly small wounds hurt. It made him wonder how humans managed to evolve as far as they had, with how delicate they were.

He stared into the mirror and scrunched up his eyebrows, watching the unfamiliar face across from him mimic his movements. He drank in the appearance of this man whose body he now occupied. He would guess he was in his early-to-mid 20’s, though he was terrible at judging human ages. He looked to be of Asian heritage, which was not surprising since Shredder brought many of his clan straight from Japan. His hair hung just past his ears, shaggy and jet-black, and his eyes were a dark brown. The man was built like a brick wall, broad shouldered and all muscle, much like he’d imagine Raph would appear as a human.

He took one hand and ran it down the center of his chest, from his collarbone to his navel. Perplexed, he watched as the skin shifted under the pressure. It was strange to say the least. Using a couple of his many fingers, he poked at his abdominal muscles, noting that he could indeed count them. Then curiously, he ran his hand back up and touched one of his two small nipples watching the skin contract, a little surprised at how sensitive they were.

During his examination, he hadn’t noticed that April had stopped cleaning a scrape on his back and was now watching him in the mirror.

“What are you doing?” She asked, making him jump.

“Wha?! Um… nothing… I just” He took a breath to decide how to explain himself. “This is SO WEIRD!” He locked his eyes with her in the mirror and gestured to his chest again. “I’m part turtle April! _This_ is where my shell is attached to me! I don’t have abs, I don’t have nipples!”

Suppressing a giggle, April hid her reflection back behind him, apparently amused by his shocked expression. “Sorry, but you have to admit, flipping-out over suddenly having nipples is kind of funny.”

“Don’t laugh at me!” he said, exasperated, but then catching his reflection again he suddenly appreciated how much of a looney he must have seemed, poking at himself.

He let out a big sigh. “Ok, fine. I’m calming down.” He closed his eyes and took in a slow steadying breath.

“Now that was an unmistakable ‘Donnie-ism’.” April chirped from behind him with a tight-lipped smile.

He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if he’d heard her correctly. “Huh?”

“Seeing you freak-out like that. I mean, I know that is _you_ in that body, but it’s actually comforting to see you act like the guy I know so well.”

Frowning at the comment, he grumbled. “I’m just thrilled that ‘freaking-out’ is the trait I’m so well-known for.”

He saw April’s reflection stick out her tongue before she swiped one last iodine soaked cotton ball across the largest of the gashes along his back. The sting caused Donnie to jolt. He squinted his eyes and glared in her direction through the mirror, knowing darn well that it hadn’t been by accident. But she kept her face hidden from view.

Rolling out some gauze, she started to tape up the largest patch on his back. With his eyes still closed he let his head fall forward and relaxed.

“What are we going to do with the guy in my body?” He asked into the room.

“Well, whatever we do, we better lock him up to avoid another ‘tussle’.” April answered, using Leo’s term.

Donnie let his mind think over their options as she ripped a piece of tape and stuck it in place.

* * *

 

Together, they had generally agreed that the O’Neil family’s antique store below her apartment would be the most suitable place to house his body-snatcher for the time being. Her Aunt had closed up the shop when her dad had first gone missing and hadn’t yet reopened it, guaranteeing them a space with some privacy. April and Donnie had gone down to investigate once they had finished bandaging him and it was then that they discovered the small janitor’s closet in the back of the store. 

The room was small and dirty, but it could serve the purpose of a temporary holding cell. The walls were solid brick and the only window was the small square opening in the heavy metal door which marked the only way in or out. There was even a floor drain in the corner for mop buckets that could be made into a makeshift bathroom of sorts. Though the idea of having to keep him in there long enough to need basic living amenities was worrisome.

The room had been used as extra storage over the last years and had several stacks of boxes already filling the space, but with the help of a dolly, they could get it cleared out relatively quickly and the two set to work doing so.

April had been reluctant to allow Donnie to do so much heavy lifting, after now knowing the extent of his injuries, and had voiced her opinion on it. However they were both well aware that there was no way he would sit this out, nor could she accomplish it on her own in the little time they had left.

A distinct tapping at the back door of the store indicated that his brothers had arrived. As Donnie was moving the last heavy box to the back corner of the store, April ran over to answer the door, letting in a slightly perturbed Raphael, weighed down with several large bags.

“UNNNGH!” He grunted in an exaggerated manner dropping the bags into a pile by the door. “I’ve got a delivery here for ‘Don’.” He joked.

“Hey, watch it! Some of that stuff is fragile.” Donnie walked over to scope the goodies Raph had brought. One step forward and he stopped at the sight of his toughest brother standing his ground, hands on his sais.

“Hey Raph.” Donnie grinned sheepishly, realizing again how weird it must be for everybody that he was not himself.

“Is that you, Genius?” Raph asked. “Because that certainly wasn’t you back at the lair.”

“It’s me. At least temporarily.” He shrugged, noting that even in his new body he still stood taller than his brother.

Raph squinted his eyes looking unimpressed with Donnie’s reveal. “What name did I call you until you were 8?”

“Really Raph?” He asked quietly, with a small flick of an eye, gesturing to April standing beside them.

“Yeah, really. I just carried your heavy ass all over for the second time tonight!” Raphael smirked, his satisfaction at making him flustered was evident.

Donnie let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Dork-a-tello.” He mumbled under his breath.

“Ha! That’s my bro!” Raphael laughed heartily and smacked Donnie on the back, making him wince a little in pain. “So how’s it feel being stuck with that ugly mug?”

April rolled her eyes at the exchange between the two brothers, Raph’s idea of ugly was apparently far from her own. Glancing over towards the empty doorway, she realized nobody else had followed him in.

“Where are the others?” She asked.

“Leo’s got Donnie’s body out in the van, I was just dropping off this stuff and scoping the place out before dragging him in here.”

Grateful to move past any further teasing his brother had up his sleeve, Donnie pointed to the storage closet on the far wall. “We cleared out this old storage locker to put him in for now.”

Raph gave him a look as if to question his plan, but just shrugged and walked back out the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll go get him!” He hollered over his shoulder sarcastically.

Donnie took a step to follow him, but April stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “They’ve got it.”

He knew that she wanted him to sit down and take it easy. Even after the pain killers it was hard for him to hide that it still hurt to move around. He appreciated that she was being nice about it and could tell she was trying to politely distract him.

“I’m going to go hang a sheet over the front store window. Can you make sure that the closet is ready to go?” She suggested.

“You mean the ‘cell’?” Donnie corrected with evident distaste. Something about having to turn a closet into a makeshift prison cell felt so fundamentally against the whole ‘being a hero’ thing 

“You know what I mean.” April glared back, walking away with the sheet.

Donnie sighed and crouched down to dig through the bags Raph had brought, smiling to himself when he found the items he was looking for: a large shackle sized to fit their over-proportioned turtle ankles, as well as a relatively short chain.

Within a few minutes he was able to crudely attach the chain around the thick water pipes running to the mop drain, preparing for the new guest of honor. He didn’t really like the idea of chaining up his own body, but the extra security provided a sense of comfort. Just as he was finishing up, he heard the bell ring as his brothers entered through the back door of the tiny shop, and hustled to meet them.

“How’s Mikey doing?” He heard April ask just before he had caught up with them.

“He’ll be fine. He’s pretty shaken, but Splinter is getting him stitched up right now.” Leo answered, a look of guilt obvious on his features.

“It wasn’t your fault Leo.” April stepped forward to lay a gentle hand on his arm. “We had no idea who this guy was.”

“I should have listened to you guys. Now Mikey’s hurt and we still don’t know this guy’s intentions.” Leo berated himself.

“And if Donnie hadn’t gotten himself body snatched, we wouldn’t even have this problem.” Raph griped from behind them, not quite yet in the door. “What’s done is done, let’s just focus on fixing this.”

Donatello opened his mouth, ready to argue with Raph for placing the blame on him for getting captured as though it had been his fault. He was forming his rebut when Leo stepped further through the doorway and Donnie suddenly realized his brother in blue was carrying his true body by the feet, with Raphael trailing behind holding his upper half. As he slowly approached them he was taken aback by how strange it was to stare down at his own figure, hanging there limp between his two brothers. It reminded him of something he’d seen on TV, where a character had died and their floating soul had stood above, gazing down on their own lifeless body. To say it felt weird was an understatement.

He was so caught up in watching them carry his body through the door that he had forgotten about his own temporary one until Leo lurched in surprise at seeing him. Donnie plastered an apologetic smile on his temporary face, knowing it was a disconcerting sensation for any of them to be approached by a “stranger”.

“Donnie?” Leo questioned, sounding slightly shocked. “I mean, I know it’s you, but still… it’s weird.”

“Yes, it’s Donnie!” Raph complained from behind. “Now can we please put down the _heavy_ _shelled-variation_ of Donnie before chit-chatting?”

“Here,” April moved past them, further into the store towards an old pool table near the front. “You can lay him down here.” She had picked up another sheet and was hastily covering the table before Raph and Leo laid him down unceremoniously. His hands were still bound behind him causing his body to tip onto its side.

For the first time, both Donnie and April had a good look at his turtle body. His mask had been long since removed, revealing a bruised eye almost sealed shut from the puffed up cheekbone below it, along with a deep gash above his right eye. His arms and legs were littered with scratches and bruises, some more serious than others.

“This guy thought it’d be fun to try and kill us all as he escaped.” Raph growled, the anger in his voice not at all restrained.

Having found himself transfixed with his own battered and bruised body laying on the table in front of him, Donnie looked up at what he heard. “So what was this guy’s plan?”

“We were just collateral.” Leo spoke seriously, his eyes on Donnie’s body as he continued. “He said something about how the ‘rat’ was the only one he had to leave for Shredder. He tried to avoid a fight with him earlier, but we had him cornered. Splinter stopped the confrontation before it even really began.”

April and Donnie simply nodded to that dark information. They had seen Splinter in action many times and knew that he was quite capable of ending a fight.

Leo looked back up and turned to Donnie, subtly eyeing his new form. “So what now, Donnie?”

“Well, those sedatives will keep him unconscious for the rest of the night. That should give me time to apply some first aid and get him squared away. Tomorrow we can commandeer the switching device and get it recalibrated to switch us back.” Donnie offered as a place to start.

“You sure it’s a good idea to keep him here?” Leo said, his voice laced with uncertainty.

“It’s only temporary. Once we have the machine ready, we’ll need him there for the swap. It’s easiest to keep him away from the lair for now.”

“And we can’t honestly think of anywhere better. The lair is too dangerous, if he were to escape, he could reveal the lair’s location.” April helped explain their reasoning to the brothers.

Leo nodded in return and Donnie could tell by his expression that he had considered the risks and accepted their solution. Now it was time for him to take charge.

“Raph and I will make sure the building is secure. You have 15 minutes to apply any first aid,” Leo gestured to the unconscious turtle on the pool table. “I want him locked up sooner than later.”

* * *

Donnie retrieved his medical kit from one of the several large bags that Raph had carried in and he and April went to work patching up his body as best as they could.

“I wonder how much of this damage was from the fight, and how much was just from the explosion?” He asked aloud, feeling a mixture of resentment and genuine curiosity.

He ran his hand softly across his shoulders, gently tipping his head to one side, to inspect behind his ear cavity.

“I’m sure they were concerned for Mikey’s well being,” April explained. “And they still obviously restrained themselves.”

“How can you tell that?” Donnie asked skeptically. Unable to look past the obvious damage.

“Well for one, he still has all of his limbs and there are no three-pronged holes in his abdomen… your abdomen.” April finished, obviously not really sure how to refer to him.

Donnie let out a huff through his nose. April was partially teasing, but she was also right. He could only imagine how challenging it must have been for his brothers to fight off an assassin without being able to mortally wound him. The weapons each brother carried had the ability to do substantial damage and he was grateful that they had kept his body in one piece.

After removing the ropes that had bound his wrists, he noted a substantial gash in his body’s right palm and remembered how Leo had described him using a shard of glass to attack Mikey. Either this guy had little qualms about pain, or he just lacked any concern over hurting his temporary body. Both thoughts left Donnie feeling equally uneasy. He pulled out his suture kit and went to work stitching up the worst part of it.

They were both working along in silence when April heard Donnie voice an amount of surprise.

“Huh.” Donnie let out the small sound from his side of table, with his body up on its side, the shell acting like a sort of barrier between the two of them.

“What is it?” April asked, looking up from the gash on his leg that she had just bandaged up.

“It’s just weird to see my body from this angle. I had no idea how roughed up the back of my shell had gotten. Some of these scutes look like they were damaged a long time ago.”

April shook her head to herself, hearing his response. She wasn’t sure how he was able to be so detached from the situation. It had to be difficult to see yourself in such bad shape, but he almost seemed to approach it more like some strange experiment.

Their time was quickly running out, but it seemed like they had managed to clean all the cuts and bandage up the more serious ones. She moved up to the head of the table, lowering herself to look more closely at the face of her dear friend. Logically she knew that his mind was inhabiting another body at the moment, but she couldn’t help that she felt so drawn to the familiar reptile-human form she had come to know so well. The body that currently she was not able to do much to help.

Briefly, she was pulled back to another memory of Donnie’s lifeless body laying on the living room floor of the farmhouse. His consciousness then had been trapped in the dream world with his life energy being drained from him. And just like this time, there was very little she had been able to do to fix him. She had feared that he was going to die that day, laying in her arms and she had never felt so helpless in all of her life.

April opened her eyes again, stepping away from that nightmare. Logically, she knew that Donnie was alive and well and that at least they had recovered his body so that they could switch him back, but emotionally, it was still hard to see him like this. She brought a hand up to softly trace the contours of his cheek, up and over the ridge of his beak-like nose to the other side, and cupped the opposite cheek in her palm.

In general, the boys pretty much always wore their masks, and it had only been on a few occasions that she had seen Donatello without his purple fabric in place. And even then, it’s not like she’d ever really had the opportunity to study his features so unabashedly. It amazed her that something which had originally seemed so foreign could now be so familiar.

They really weren’t all that different from non-mutants when you drilled down to details. Eyes, nose, mouth, the features were all there. Aside from the green tone and pebbled texture of his scaled skin, lying there with his eyelids closed, he looked so… normal. Handsome even, if she was willing to admit it.

“Okay, time’s up.” Leo announced from the other side, causing April to spring back from the table, feeling uneasy for having almost gotten caught admiring her friend’s features so closely. The two ninjas has entered silently and she hadn’t noticed them approach.

Donnie’s temporary face popped up from the other side of the table, having still been patching up a spot behind his shell. “Already?” He asked.

“Leader says it’s time.” Raph nudged his way next to the table forcing both Donnie and April to reluctantly step back.

They watched on as the brawny one roughly slid his arms under the armpits of his lanky brother’s form and lugged the front half of him off the table, with Leo running around to the other side, to grab his legs before they fell.

“Hey! Take it easy Raph, I’m going to need that body back!” Donnie glared at his short-fused brother.

“With the crap day this guy has put us through, I think you should be thankful I’m being this nice.”

Leo glared over the body they carried at Raph, a look April had seen many times that was clearly a challenge towards his brother to shut his mouth.

“Just a second,” Donnie dug around in his bag of medical supplies. He pulled out a small bracelet looking device, and attached it around his true body’s wrist with an audible click. “It’s a vitals monitor. Since it won’t be safe to go in to check on him.” He explained. “It’s an old fitness monitor that connects to an app on my phone. I suped it up to track pulse rate, and a few other things. It’s not ideal, but it should work to at least keep a basic eye on his vitals, let me know if anything falls out of normal ranges. And when he’s regained consciousness.”

The eldest brothers stepped into the small closet and laid the body down in a heap upon the old hand-sewn mattress April had found in the back of the store. Donnie crouched down and locked the shackle around his left ankle, giving a tug on the chain to verify it was firmly attached. Walking out, they closed the door and Donnie sealed it shut with a turn of the lock. Even while knowing that the chain would keep the prisoner far from the door, Donatello still made a mental note that perhaps he should consider adding an extra bar across it for good measure.

The three brothers all stood crowded together, peeking in through the door’s small window at his motionless body.

“We better head back, I’d like to check on Mikey.” Leo stated, stepping back.

“And we’re already gonna have to hustle to beat the sun up.” Raph added with a snark.

“Are you going to stay here?” Leo asked, his eyes locking with Donnie.

“Yeah. I don’t think I should let this body see where the lair is, just in case. Plus, I want to keep an eye on this guy.” Donnie replied, motioning towards the closet. “Nor do I want to leave April here alone with an assassin locked up beneath her apartment.”

Aside from the slight weirdness of leaving Donnie alone at April’s apartment in a strange body they didn’t recognize, the brothers generally agreed that his plan made sense. They said their farewells, exchanging hugs with April and awkward handshakes with Donnie before heading out into the last little bit of nightfall.

Rummaging around to find a more suitable place to sit, Donatello unburied an ornate couch tucked away in the back of the store. April honestly didn’t know much about antique furniture, but noticed the legs boasted elegant woodwork that complimented the faded damask print of the upholstery. She verified from their inventory listing that it was probably okay for them to use, and helped him drag it up towards the front of the store near the makeshift cell.

“Ufff.” Donnie let out a groan as he sunk down, a puff of dust swirled up around him as the ancient piece of furniture creaked under his weight. “Guess comfort wasn’t really the selling point of this piece.” He mused, as he shifted around. Ultimately draping one leg across the side, his foot hanging off the edge.

April smiled at his comment, finding her own seat on the stool she had pulled out from behind the front counter. Donnie had already poured himself into the small couch as though his body was made of liquid and she didn’t really feel the need to squeeze in next to his strange body.

“So what now?” She asked as a yawn took over.

“Go get some sleep, I’ll keep watch.” Donnie suggested, slouching back into the curved arm of the couch, trying his best to find a comfortable spot.

“I think you could use the sleep more than me.” She pointed out what she felt was rather obvious.

Letting out a yawn of his own, he explained. “He’s still got at least a few more hours of sedative coursing through his system and the vitals monitor will alert me when he wakes up. So, I’ll probably doze off for a little bit.”

“Raph brought your T-phone right?”

He nodded, and patted his pocket where it was apparently housed. “I’ll call you if anything changes.”

April stood from her stool and stopped to study the strange man that had entered her apartment only hours earlier. His shaggy black hair was mussed in all directions and his dark brown eyes were heavy-lidded with exhaustion. After tending to his wounds, he had redressed in the same black shirt he had arrived in, the fabric frayed and matted with dried blood. They would need to get him cleaned up if they wanted to be able to move about the city without drawing attention to themselves.

His head lulled back and it was apparent that sleep had finally taken over. She could only imagine the day this guy, both Donnie and his current body, had gone through. Smiling at the soft snore already coming from his chest, she picked up the last of the sheets and shook one out to lay over him.

Flicking on the warm glow of the beautiful Tiffany lamp that sat on the store counter, she then turned off the harsh overhead lights as she closed the door to the stairway behind her.

 

* * *

 

**End chapter 3 - Out of Body Experience**

Illustration by co-Author: [Suthnmeh](http://suthnmeh.tumblr.com)  
  


 


	4. Dawning Realization

**Chapter Four - Dawning Realization**

* * *

 

Even after the exhaustion of being woken up in the middle of the night, April still found it rather difficult to get any more sleep. She laid in bed, tossing and turning, the concerns over her friend and the assassin chained up in the store below kept picking at her brain. Managing to doze off for a couple of hours, she experienced a restless sleep and was soon awakened with a jolt of panic at the buzzing tune coming from her nightstand. 

Alert and upright in seconds, she quickly realized it was just her regular morning alarm set to go off obnoxiously early on weekdays. With a sigh, she tapped the screen, turning off the sound, and fell back into her soft pillows. After everything that had happened, she had almost forgotten it was a school day. Luckily, she had just taken tests in two of the classes earlier that week and knew she wouldn’t miss anything  _ too _ important. Sending off a quick email to her teachers feigning sickness, she alerted them that she wouldn’t be making it in. Heaven knew she had more important matters to deal with.

Laying awake in bed she could hear the bustle of the city outside, people going about their daily routines unchanged, completely unaware of the bizarre events that had happened during the night. The city carried on in its denial; even after the Kraang abductions, New York’s inhabitants found it hard to accept that mutants, ninja and evil-doers with brain-switching technology lurked throughout their city. She sometimes felt jealous of their ignorance.

With troublesome thoughts swirling in her head, she found she was unable to shake the concerns over Donatello’s well being, and reluctantly forfeited the pull of additional sleep. Climbing out of bed she wrapped herself in a thick robe before creeping down the stairs and into the shop below.

Upon entering the dusty second-hand store, still darkened with the help of the sheets covering the windows, she crept to the back corner where she had left her friend. Donnie was still sprawled out on the antique sofa that looked ridiculously too small for his stature; leg hanging off one side and his head tipped back into the corner of the backrest. A soft snore steadily rising from his chest.

With a sigh of relief, April crept past to peek into the cell. Donatello’s true body, his mutated turtle one, lay still on the mattress, appearing to have not moved much. Watching him for a moment, she was able to verify that she could see his plastron slowly rising and falling. Feeling more at ease, knowing that all was as she left it, she started to leave.

Turning back for one last glance at her sleeping friend, she smiled at how peaceful he looked. Allowing him a little more time to rest, she headed back up the stairs to quickly get ready. 

* * *

 

“Donnie. Donnie, wake up.” Donatello was only half aware of the voice that was urging him out of his dreams. His eyes cracked open a slit and he could see a flash of bright red hair. 

“April?” He mumbled, his voice still thick with slumber. 

“Hey sleepy head, I brought you coffee.” 

He took in a big whiff of the heavenly aroma as his eyelids fluttered open to meet the beautiful baby blues of his best friend. He was still a little hazy as to why he was waking up to her presence, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain.

“Good morning.” She smiled at him, offering the steaming mug. 

“Good morning.” He replied automatically, shifting his weight to sit up, and reaching forward for the cup. The hand that reached out was not his own and with a small jump he found himself retracting as the events of the night before came rushing back. 

April laid a calm hand on his shoulder, “Hey, it’s ok.”

“Sorry I... for a second there it all felt like a bad dream.” Donnie looked around and reconfirmed that he was indeed still inside the antique store, trapped in the body of some Foot Clan assassin. As he sat feeling befuddled, a dawning of comprehension hit him, and he practically leapt from his seat, causing April to take a step back and swing her arm away carefully to avoid the mug being knocked from her hand. 

“My body!” He shouted somewhat unintelligibly, stumbling the few steps to the sealed door. Pressing his face up against the glass he peered in to see the sleeping form of his mutated turtle body.

“He’s still out.” April explained from behind him. “That must have been some sedative. If he’s faking it, he’s fooling your monitor too.”

“Something’s not right…” Donnie tried to do the math as he spun back around to look at her. “The sedative should have worn off after 5 hours… 7 max.”

April pointed behind her, to the wall of clocks for sale, and while not all of them seemed to be working, the ones that were, all displayed a fairly early morning hour. “It’s only been a few hours since the guys left, but I thought you might want a chance to freshen up.”

His eyebrows scrunched in confusion, Donnie took in what she had said and calculated the hours that had passed.  _ Had it really only been three hours since he’d dozed off? _

April just gave him that look that said, ‘are you getting it now?’ and handed him the mug of coffee. Gladly accepting, he took a large swig, not really caring that it scalded his tongue as it went down. Feeling somewhat more clear-headed as he downed the rest of the caffeine, he surveyed his battle torn uniform encrusted with spatters of blood.

He smiled at her, noting that she herself had clearly showered and changed since the previous night. She was right, he needed a chance to recharge and prepare before he could face the day. Interrogating this guy was just the beginning. While he didn’t relish the idea of having to care for this foreign body, he did realize that those around him also had to put up with it, and it’s hard to walk around without being noticed when you’re caked in blood. Plus, he was pretty sure that ‘sweaty-boy’ smell he just noticed was not coming from April. 

“You’re right.” He accepted with a sigh. “Do you mind if I use your shower?”

April nodded her head with a grin, reaching out to take the empty mug from him. “I left a clean towel and a few other things out on the counter for you.” She picked up his forgotten T-phone off the small couch. “I’ll keep an eye on the monitors and I’ll see if I can find something in my dad’s closet for you to wear.” 

Donatello smiled, grateful for her thoughtfulness, when something occurred to him. “When is your dad supposed to get back? Do you think we should let him know what’s going on?”

April shook her head immediately and he got the impression she had already thought this over. “He won’t be back until next week, and seeing as how he’s at a retreat to deal with post-traumatic stress, I don’t think we really need to give him any new things to stress about.”

“Yeah, good point.” Donatello grimaced at the thought of causing Mr. O’Neil any more emotional damage, the poor guy had been through a lot the last couple of years. “I’m sorry I brought this ‘mess’...” He gestured towards himself and the locked door beside them. “...into your home. I wasn’t really thinking when I came here last night, I just knew it would be safe.”

“It’s okay Donnie, goodness knows we’ve all had our fair share of trouble. I’m glad you know you can count on me even in the craziest of times.” She smirked with a wink. “Now, quick - go shower before this guy wakes up. 

“Thanks April.” He smiled again before trudging up the stairs. 

* * *

 

Still only 80% awake, and certainly not used to the stride of this body, Donatello stumbled into April’s bathroom. Just as she had promised, a fresh towel was neatly folded and placed on the edge of the sink along with a new toothbrush and travel sized stick of deodorant. He cringed, realizing that April was politely telling him he smelled bad. 

Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, he pulled the tight tabis off his feet, dropping the worn shoes to the tiled floor, before reaching behind him to crank the water to as hot as he could stand. Straightening up, he successfully pulled the filthy and torn shirt over his head, this time without catching an ear, and dropped the ruined garment on the pile. Having no real desire to get a good look at the undressed body he inhabited, Donatello avoided the mirror and waited to the last possible moment to undo the top of his pants. With a sigh, he hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of both his pants and undergarments, quickly pushing them down his legs. He stepped, one foot at a time, out of the ring of fabric, careful not to trip himself, and climbed into the hot cascade of water.

When April had briefly lived with the boys, she had brought a modest amount of toiletries to the lair. As Donatello surveyed the many bottles of bath gels and shampoos, conditioners and leave-in treatments that lined the edges of her shower, it became very clear to him that she had been limiting herself from her usual selection. He had seen the stereotype on television and movies, of women owning too many beauty products, and it seemed April was the type to feed these stigmas.

He let his fingers walk across the lids of the many bottles as he read the labels. Landing on one with cherry blossom in the name, picking it up he flipped the lid open to smell the reddish liquid within. The familiar scent he often caught when April walked past hit him square in the nose. He squeezed a fair amount into the palm of his hand and rotated the bottle to read the directions on the back. 

‘Lather into hair, massaging at the scalp and rinse.’ He squinted at the words unimpressed with the idea, but sat the bottle back down and did as it said.  After scrubbing the soapy mess around in the mop on top of his head, he leaned back into the stream, letting the bubbles wash down. 

Ignoring the sting as the soapy solution washed over his many cuts and scrapes, he adjusted under the hot water and rolled his neck as it massaged his achy muscles. If he hadn’t already been sore from the explosion, sleeping on that old couch certainly hadn’t helped. 

Leaning forward he peeked open his eyes and spotted his ten individual toes. He watched in fascination as he attempted to pick them up one at a time and roll them. The largest toe on his left foot had a black stain on the nail bed, he assumed it was probably broken sometime in the not too distant past. With his head lowered, the water began to trickle back down along his hairline and into his face. A stream ran into his mouth and he spit in disgust, tasting the shampoo still mingling within it. The sharp movement caused another stream to run into his eye and it immediately began to sting. 

“Ow! Dammit!” He mumbled, stammering around, almost losing his footing. 

Righting himself, he managed to rinse all of the soapy water from his face. “Dammit, Donnie! You’re a grown turtle, it can’t be this freaking hard to shampoo your hair.” He stopped when he realized what he’d just said and sighed to himself. The sooner he could get back into his own body the better. 

Grabbing the first bottle that looked to be regular soap, he squeezed a healthy pool into one hand and went about quickly scrubbing his arms. Something about rubbing his hands up and down a male body that was not his own felt very wrong and he was eager to end the experience. 

He cleaned across his chest, careful to keep large amounts of soap away from the cuts and the bandage April would most likely need to replace. He hissed as the soapy water ran down and stung a large gash in his leg he hadn’t even noticed was there before. Squeezing some more soap into his hand, he quickly ran down either leg, surprised by how hairy they were. 

He paused to stand in the hot water realizing he was at the point where all that was left to clean was the area he was avoiding. Accepting that this was quite possibly the most awkward thing he had ever done, he went ahead and looked down there. He couldn’t say that he knew a lot about human male genitalia, other than the curious research he had done when he was younger, wondering just how different he and his brothers were from the human race. Honestly, it wasn’t  _ that _ different. They had the same working parts, it’s just that humans left everything exposed and vulnerable at all times, as was demonstrated to him the night before by April’s foot. Deciding that he was quite alright with the fact that his testicles, and (most of the time) his manhood, were safely located behind the protection of his plastron, he quickly cleaned off the foreign ones hanging between his legs.

Finishing up, Donnie gave a little outward shudder at the weirdness of the situation, when it suddenly hit him that the same thing was going to happen with the guy in his body. Just knowing that at some point this guy was going to have to use the restroom made him feel violated.  It was enough of a reminder as to why he needed to hurry and he quickly turned off the tap and reached out to grab the towel that April had left out for him earlier. 

Again as he leaned over to dry off his feet and legs, he found the water from his hair dripping into his face and angrily wiped the drops back, letting out an irritated sigh. “Arrrgh!”

“You ok in there?” He heard April call from inside the apartment, apparently she’d made her way back upstairs.

“Yeah.” He opened the bathroom door and stepped out into her attached bedroom, making his way through the room when he didn’t see her in there. He was using the towel to finish drying his arms and brought it up to scrub at his hair, trying his best to soak up the water. “I’m just realizing that I might need to shave this guy’s head.” He spoke loudly so that April could hear him from wherever she was, and was rewarded with a soft chuckle. “I mean, how do you deal with this everyday?” His face scrunched up in irritation as he felt another wayward droplet make it’s way into his ear as he walked out of her bedroom and into the hallway. 

April rounded the corner, stepping out from her father’s bedroom. She had been digging around trying to find him some acceptable clothing, since everything he had shown up in was torn and bloodstained. The size difference between this muscle clad thug and her skinny father was almost laughable, but she found a pair of drawstring sweatpants and a random free t-shirt she hoped would do the trick, at least temporarily.

“The hair on my head is the least of my worries.” She teased back, “Women have the added annoyance of having to shave our legs—” 

April stopped in her tracks when she saw Donnie, currently inhabiting a very fit and rather good-looking man standing buck naked in her living room. She watched several stray water droplets slowly making their way down his chiseled chest as he seemed preoccupied with shaking water from his ears. 

“Oh my god!” She shouted, not really meaning to. 

Donnie stopped what he was doing and pulled the towel down from over his eyes. April stood across the room from him, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.

“You’re naked!” She followed up, her brain still not really sure what to say.

And in the very definition of his cracker-jack timing, Casey Jones chose that moment to throw open April’s front door.  

“Hey–!” He announced himself, before whatever else he was about to say died on his lips.

April watched as he caught a look at the naked stranger just inside the door and for a second turned back, probably to verify that he had barged into the correct apartment.

Confusion on his face, he swung his head over to look at April and then comically swung back towards Donnie as though to verify that, yep there was indeed a naked dude in her living room. “What the HELL, Red?! Who’s this guy?!” He shouted out. 

Donnie, having not realized his blunder until all of the commotion, was trying to quickly pull the towel from his head and reposition it in front of his body as best as possible. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking! I’ve never needed to cover up!” He tried his best to frantically explain. 

“Oh my god!” April shouted again at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. In two strides, she was at the door, grabbing Casey by the arm and pulling him in before slamming the door shut. 

“The last thing we need are nosey neighbors wondering what the hell is going on!” She scolded Casey. Before turning towards Donnie and shoving the pile of clothes into his arms. “Here! Take these and go get dressed!” She commanded in an exasperated tone. 

Donnie nodded silently and spun around to head back to the bathroom, most of his butt still very much uncovered by the lopsided towel. 

April looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes before turning back to Casey who was standing with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face. 

“What the hell, April?” He muttered under his breath. “What’s going on? I thought you said Donnie needed our help?” His voice got louder as he talked. “And then I walk into  _ this _ ? Did you… I mean, is that guy… did you just hook up with him?” 

April could feel  the heat radiate through her face, she couldn’t decide if she was more angry or embarrassed by the accusation. “First of all, Jones! My love life is NONE of your business!” She shouted and Casey looked surprised by her reaction. “And do I really seem like the type of person to just ‘hook up’ with some guy?! I mean really?”

“Well what exactly did you expect me to think, when you call me about helping Donnie and I walk in to see ‘Mr. Muscle’ prancing around your apartment in the nude!” Casey gestured to the closed bedroom door, eyebrows raised.

“Ugh! Casey, that IS Donnie!” Facing off against him, April angrily gestured toward the same door.

Casey’s mouth opened as if he was ready to retort, but then his brain seemed to catch up to him and he paused. “Wait… What do you mean, that’s Donnie? Like he got retro-mutagened or somethin’?”

April closed her eyes and stood up tall to regain her composure. She inwardly cringed at the term “retro-mutagened” and recognized that she needed to take a deep breath before she started yelling again. 

“No, Casey. Donnie and the guys started off as turtles, if they came into contact with retro-mutagen, we’d have little ordinary turtles on our hands.” She paused for a split second until she could see the understanding register in his eyes. “Remember that Kraang device that switched our minds between our bodies?” 

Casey let out a little laugh. “Oh yeah, that was crazy cool.” He seemed to be having way too fond of a memory, and April smacked his arm before he could spend too much time thinking about pinching her butt.

“It was  _ not  _ ‘cool’ Casey.” She glared. “The same thing happened to Donnie. Some Foot Clan spy switched bodies with him.”

“Whoah. For real?” Casey asked, finally taking it all in. 

“For real.” Came a third voice from behind them, and they both spun around to see the stranger standing just outside her bedroom door, now dressed in a pair of black sweats and a much too small T-shirt, that April had to admit, fit him snug in all the right places. 

“Wait- so why was Donnie walking around naked? Did you just hook up with human-Donnie?!” Casey’s adolescent male mind seemed to be on one track. April was relieved that his tone sounded more of disbelief than jealousy, maybe he really had taken the hint that she wasn’t interested.  

“What?” Donnie asked with a perplexed face, having missed the first part of their conversation. 

“No, Jones!” April smacked him again before throwing her arms up in disgust. “There was no ‘hooking up’ of ANY kind. Donnie was getting out of my shower, and well…” She looked over at her friend, who apparently managed to blush no matter which body he possessed. “He’s not really used to the idea of covering up.”

“Sorry about that!” Donnie nervously apologized again. “I didn’t think anything of it, I was so distracted by this stupid hair!”

“It’s fine. It’s fine.” April smiled and couldn’t help but shake her head. 

The three all stood awkwardly in the hallway, silence washing over them. Donnie reached up and ran a hand through his damp locks, pushing the longer strands back out of his face. His cheeks still a brilliant pink.

Casey still had a look of confusion on his face and April was just waiting for the first question. 

“How the heck did this even happen? And where’s your body?” Casey asked with one eyebrow still cocked.

April had to suppress a giggle at how lost he appeared.

Donnie gave him the quick debrief about how he had been nabbed by the Foot, had his body swapped and that his real body was locked up downstairs. Casey’s mouth was still hanging open as he took in the incredible story. 

After a minute of letting this all sink in, a mischievous smile crossed his face. “So you’re trapped in the body of some kind of kick-ass Foot assassin? That is SO WICKED!”

“I would hardly describe it that way.” Donatello retorted, looking unamused with Casey’s typical reaction. “So, you’re really just going to accept everything I told you and roll right into how ‘cool’ it is?” 

Casey gave a shrug, and April had to admit she wasn’t surprised. If anyone would be able to accept such a ludicrous story without needing proof, it was going to be Casey.

“If April trusts you, that’s good enough for Casey Jones.” His smile became a smirk and he glanced at the other male in the room before turning towards April and pretending to speak covertly. “Besides, only  _ Donatello _ could step into the body of a ‘Thor wannabe’ and still be a stick in the mud about it.”

“Hey!” Donnie protested from behind them, very much able to hear Casey’s remark.

Casey let out a hearty laugh, looking rather proud of himself. “So whaddya need my help for?” 

“Right!” April replied with a grin, ready to change the topic for Donnie’s sake. “Did you happen to bring that extra pair of sneakers I asked about?”

 

* * *

 

Casey had indeed brought over the bag of gear April had requested. And as she had assumed, he was completely the wrong size to lend any clothing due to his lean and lanky frame, but his ridiculously large feet were the perfect size for Donatello to borrow a pair of his old sneakers.

Once Donnie had finished getting ready, the group found themselves standing around the small apartment kitchen; April and Donnie both wolfing down a simple breakfast before the day got crazy. Casey was carrying on with more questions about Donatello’s unique predicament when a shrill beep burst out from the T-phone laying on the kitchen counter next to them.

Donatello froze, the overflowing spoonful of sugary cereal left hanging suspended in the air in front of his open mouth.

“What the hell is that?” Casey glared at the irritating device. 

“The monitor?” April replied around a mouth full of yogurt.

Dropping the spoon back into the bowl with a clank, he darted to the phone, swooping it up and leaving the bowl behind in its place. Donatello silenced the alarm and flicked to his makeshift health monitoring app to confirm it was exactly what they had assumed. 

He turned to April, concern visible on her features. She was worrying about all the same things he was. How were they going to approach this man; the person who had brutally attacked his family while hiding behind the mask of his own face. Would they be able to get any straight answers about what he had done or why? Even if they did, would they be able to trust anything he said? And most importantly, how were they going to keep this Foot assassin contained and make sure no further harm came to his own body?

He answered the most basic of these questions with a simple, “He’s awake.”

Before Casey could even finish asking what that meant, Donatello was already taking the stairs two at a time, rushing down to the store with the two teens following right behind. Practically bursting in, he crossed the space to the cell door in a half-jog. Making his way right up to look into the small window.

Donatello wasn’t sure what he expected, but seeing the imposter awake for the first time and in turn, his own body moving around without him, was rather disconcerting. 

The prisoner was sitting up on the old lumpy mattress, not far from where they had left him. One leg still shackled to the wall as he tried to stretch them out, moving a little too smoothly considering he was shaking off the last of the sedative’s powerful effects. 

“He’s more alert than I expected.” April spoke softly from beside him, looking through a small corner of the window.

Using his height to his advantage, Casey was leaning over April’s shoulder to get his own look at what lay inside. “Whoah man! That is so weird to see you sitting in there.” He remarked, his breath fogging up the glass as he pressed in too close. “You look really weird without all of your gear on.” He added as an afterthought.

Donatello spared a sidelong glare and felt April shift next to him before Casey gave out a small grunt. He smiled to himself realizing she had elbowed him in the side.

“Now what?” April asked quietly.

“Now we get some answers.” Donnie replied, feeling determined.

Putting on what he hoped was a serious face, Donatello leaned against the door and directed a stern look through the glass and towards the prisoner within. “Who are you? Why did you need my body?” He spoke loudly to ensure his voice would travel through the glass and into the small closet. 

The turtle sat silently without so much as flinching from Donatello’s elevated voice, in fact he seemed to be taking long and slow meditative breaths.

“What is your mission?” Donnie asked again, raising his voice. 

He watched as the prisoner slowly twisted his neck, rolling his head in a languid circle before landing back upright and opening his eyes. Donatello waited with baited breath for the man to talk, but instead he simply raised one arm in front of him, twisting and angling it as though inspecting the many bruises on his foreign limb. He seemed to notice the monitor around his wrist, tapped at it and then seemed unimpressed enough to leave it alone.

“He’s been drugged for hours, maybe he’s still a little out of it?” April suggested.

Donnie turned to her, exasperated. “Or maybe he can’t hear me?”

“Oh I can hear you.” They heard in Donatello’s voice, slightly muffled by the door. “I’m just not answering you.”

All of their heads whipped back towards the door to see the calm response from the prisoner within. He hadn’t even looked up as he continued his inspection to the other arm.

“You better start giving us some answers!” Donatello commanded through the glass with narrowed eyes. Realizing he needed to come across more menacing, and added, “Don’t make me ask again.” 

“Wow, that’s some threat.” The prisoner replied with a sarcastic tone and a roll of his eyes. It was a tone that Donatello was quite equipped at and it bothered him to hear it sound so full of malice. “But I still won’t be telling you anything.”

This sly response pushed Donatello’s anger closer to the edge. He knew that it was in his best interest to hide his emotions, but he couldn’t help himself. This entire situation had him frazzled; he needed answers and he needed them now. If this guy wanted him to sound more threatening, he could do that.

With a resounding THUMP he wailed his fist up against the door, causing April to flinch back a step. He commanded through the glass again, “Why did Shredder have you switch bodies with me?!”

The intruder slowly extended his legs out in front of him, stretching as he rose to his feet. He seemed to hitch at a sore spot in his side when he moved; and despite the fact that it was his own body that took the damage, Donatello felt a hint of satisfaction knowing that Raph had left the man feeling the remnants of his attack.

The longer he ignored them without talking, slowly stretching in place, the more Donatello could feel his fury building. He couldn’t hide the angry short breaths through his nose that were starting to fog up the glass. 

He felt a soft hand on his wrist and turned to see April giving him a look she typically reserved for Raphael. The one that warned it was time to calm down. She spoke quietly, so that her voice wouldn’t carry through the door. “You’re letting him get to you, let’s try again later.”

Donatello nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath to lower his blood pressure, but before he could turn away from the door a voice spoke up from within. “How’s little Mikey doing?”

Donatello couldn’t stop himself from shouting, both hands in angry fists at either side of the window. “How DARE YOU!” His own olive green face stared back at him through the glass, a devious smile on his lips, amused and cocky.

“Don’t let him taunt you.” April warned from behind him, but he was unwilling to turn around and meet her eye. He had never felt so angry and he was sure that had there not been a locked door between them, he’d already be pounding on the guy, despite that it would be his own face.

Donatello continued to stare daggers at what felt like an evil version of his own reflection. Forcing his breathing to steady. He narrowed his eyes, watching the man continue his slow inspection of his new body. He was testing out movements and muscles as he stretched and squatted in place, all the while smiling to himself as the chain connected to his leg rattled around on the cement floor.

Having had enough of this moment, Donatello steadied himself to turn away when he heard him speak up again. “I see you’ve patched me up. Do you really think you’re getting this body back?” 

“I absolutely will.” Donatello snarled, his voice dripping with acid. “And until then, you won’t be going anywhere.”

With his palms on the door frame, he pushed himself back and stormed away from the prison. April and Casey following him to the other side of the store, where they were sure they couldn’t be seen or heard by the imposter.

“What the hell was that supposed to mean?” Casey asked with wide eyes. “That guy doesn’t really want to stay in your body, does he?”

Donatello shook his head with uncertainty, a worrying thought nagging at his mind. 

“I need to go back to that warehouse  _ now _ . Fix the machine. This ends today.” 

“But it’s broad daylight and the docks will be busy, it’s going to be difficult to go in undetected.” April argued from beside him.

He knew that she was politely pointing out that there was a reason the turtles didn’t generally go out during daylight. Ninja or not, it was hard to blend in when you were a giant mutated turtle. Donatello shook his head. “I can’t wait until nightfall.” 

“I’ve got your back man,” Casey spoke, slapping a hand on Donatello’s shoulder. “Let’s go scope the place out, case the area so we’re ready with a plan for tonight.”

Donatello was somewhat surprised by Casey’s generous offer, but also knew the boy never turned down even the slightest possibility of action. He nodded in thanks at the idea.

“Is that wise?” April asked in a hushed voice, the lot of them not wanting to be overheard by the prisoner. “Should you really go waltzing into a building that you just escaped from? What if Shredder or his henchmen are there?”

“That’s all the more reason for us to move now.” Donatello argued. “If they come back to move the machine elsewhere, then we’re really in trouble.”

“But didn’t you say there was some kind of an explosion? What if there’s a bunch of police around investigating,” April questioned with her bright blue eyes sparkling with worry. “or what if the place is ready to cave in?”

“There  _ was  _ an explosion, but… ” Donnie stared back, silently pleading for her to understand. “...fixing that machine is my  _ only _ hope of switching back. I have to find out.”

He watched April twist her hands in worry as she considered his reasons and reluctantly accepted them with a sigh. 

“I’ll keep watch here, but maybe you should warn your brothers to be ready as back-up? We still don’t know what Shredder is up to. For all we know, this could be part of his plan.” 

“We’re just gonna scout things out, Red. Assess the situation and stuff.” Casey grinned using air quotes around the word ‘assess’ as though he wasn’t really sure what it meant. Donnie could see that the over-enthusiastic assurances of the known trouble-seeker were doing nothing to make April feel better.

“Just... be careful.” April urged, her eyebrows quirked up in that endearing way she somehow knew he couldn’t resist.

Donnie offered her a nod in return. “You be careful too. Under no circumstances should you open that door.” He pointed across the store to the locked door on the far wall.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

* * *

 

Donatello and Casey raced across the rooftops in the late-morning sun. With only a single bike as their transportation option, they decided to stick with their preferred mode of navigating the city. Even though they had promised April it was a reconnaissance-only mission, they wanted to be geared up just in case, and it was easier to avoid suspicion when moving up above the people. 

It was not often that Donatello got the chance to see the city from this vantage point during the day. He was amazed just how busy the streets seemed, with humans and cars moving every which way. The early-summer air was fresh and crisp, and as the breeze rushed past him he could detect a mingle of scents in the air; car exhaust, the coffee stand on the corner, and the all-too-familiar hint of dumpsters in the alleys below them.

Running along in his temporary human body, Donnie found he was unable to ignore the stiffness in his muscles. Clad in borrowed clothes and his bo holster, adjusted to fit his shell-free waist, he felt restricted with so many things wrapped around his body. On top of that, Casey’s loaned shoes were uncomfortable and wearing them was unfamiliar. Without the feeling of the ground beneath his toes, it was like he’d lost one of his senses, almost as though his feet had gone blind. And he found the soles sticking more than expected, causing him to trip himself every so often.

After only two blocks, Casey was already far ahead of him, the distant noise of his hockey gear bouncing and clanking as he ran was starting to fade away. Donatello couldn’t remember ever feeling so out of breath before. This body was clearly in excellent physical condition, but he could still feel the effects of the beating he had taken the day before. The cuts on his back and sides were pulling as he moved and his head was now pounding along to the rhythm of his racing heart rate.

Taking a flying leap across a small gap between two buildings, he realized at the last second that he was not going to be able to stick the landing. He braced himself and attempted to roll into the crash, but found his shoes unwilling to cooperate, causing it to become more of a tumble than a roll. Letting out a huff, he was back on his feet in seconds, wiping the dirt and grit off his pants as best he could, before taking a step and feeling a sting in his ankle.

“You need me to carry you?” Casey hollered from a rooftop just above him, a slight snicker in his voice.

“Ha ha.” Donnie replied, not at all amused.

Casey hopped down one level and used a hockey stick to help swing himself off the building’s gutter.

“You ok?” He asked, this time seriously.

Donnie took a couple of steps forward, acting as casual as he could, while testing to make sure he hadn’t jacked up his ankle. It stung, but he could ignore it for now. “I’m fine. I’m just not used to this body yet.”

“You mean, you aren’t used to being a regular-joe without handy mutant strength and speed?” Casey teased back.

“C’mon, I was literally blown up yesterday! Give me a break for not being able to keep up.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure that’s all it is.” Casey smirked in an unconvinced manner. “Listen, take it from somebody that knows, you aren’t going to be able to do everything that a mutant ninja can, so don’t get yourself killed trying.”

Donnie paused to look at Casey and was surprised to see he was being completely serious. As much of an ass he could be sometimes, he really did appreciate his honesty. “Thanks, Casey.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He shrugged as though he couldn’t care less. But Donnie recognized that his gesture was purely out of habit, they had long ago transformed their rivalry to friendship and Casey’s gruff nature was just a part of the package. “C’mon, the docks are only a few more buildings over.” He flashed a grin of missing teeth, before pulling his goalie mask back into place and darting off.

They ran the rest of the way without talking, Casey was obviously traveling at a slower pace to allow Donatello to keep up. Appreciating the gesture, he tried to ignore his burning chest and heavy breathing and simply focused on following.

They finally arrived at a rooftop overlooking the docks and stopped at the edge to survey the situation. Just as they had assumed, the area was bustling with people; ships being unloaded, cargo being moved, workers passing through in all directions. 

The building itself was one of several large warehouses along the shoreline, standing side by side and looking rather ordinary. Save for a few broken windows, it appeared that whatever damage it had sustained from explosions and evil-doing the previous evening was hidden within its walls. Currently, the brick fortress seemed to be deserted and sat being ignored by the local workers. This put Donatello at ease, seeing that the place wasn’t crawling with police officers or Foot clan.

Reaching into the small pocket on the side of his belt, Donnie pulled out a pair of binoculars  that April had dug up for him to use . Peeking in through a few of the higher windows, he was relieved to see no sign of movement inside.

“I don’t see any activity,” He explained to Casey, who stood next to him waiting for an update. “But I can’t really get a good look from this position.”

“So let’s move in.” Casey responded, dropping down to the fire escape below them. 

“Casey, wait up!” Donatello scrambled to put his binoculars away and follow before Casey got too far ahead. “We still need to be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Casey waved a thick goalie-gloved hand in the air as though he was swatting away invisible flies.

They quickly made their way across the next opening, their feet now successfully planted on the roof of the warehouse. But before Donatello could even get out another warning of possible alarms or sensors, Casey had already run to one of the large skylights in the center of the roof; pushing his face up against the glass, using cupped hands as visors against the sun’s glare.

“Casey–This is supposed to be reconnaissance!” Donnie hollered in a whispered yell. 

“Relax, the place is empty.” Casey hollered back, his voice muffled against the glass. “Whoah, something major went down in there.” 

Forgetting his own warnings, the last remark had Donatello by Casey’s side in an instant. Mirroring his pose as he peered in through the glass beside him. 

The large hollow warehouse was dark and eerily still, the sunlight pouring in from the windows provided enough brightness to see around the cavernous space. In one sweep he was able to verify that there was indeed no sign of life inside. Allowing his focus to drop towards the center of the room, he couldn’t stop the disappointed noise that left his chest. 

The fallout from the previous day’s explosion was still evident all around them, piles of charred electronics and pieces of metal were dispersed, scattered with the remains of wooden crates that had been caught up in the explosion. A section of catwalk and loose bricks precariously topped off the pile of rubble.

“Oh no.” Donatello could feel his hopes for a speedy repair fizzle away like the last drop of water on a hot blacktop.

“Is that the machine you need?” Casey asked, his brows raised in a show of concern. 

“What’s left of it.” Donatello felt his entire body slouch forward, the adrenaline he was using to push his way past his injuries had all burned away. 

“Hey, at least it’s here right? You were worried they might have taken it.” The teen turned toward him with a fake looking smile and Donatello knew it must be really bad if he was getting a pep-talk from Casey Jones.

What Casey wasn’t realizing was that it was so damaged it clearly had been deemed not worth the effort to collect. The Foot left it here in a pile of rubble because the rare alien tech was now as worthless as the crumbled bits of brick around it.

“I thought I’d be able to just sneak in and fix it.” Donnie admitted, shaking his head slowly and lowering himself to sit on the hard rooftop. “But this will take ages to repair… and that’s assuming all the essential pieces are even salvageable.”

Casey plopped down unceremoniously next to him, hockey sticks and spray paint cans clanking against each other and the side of the window as he sat. “You’re a freaking tech genius, Don. If anyone can fix this, it’s you.”

“You don’t get it Casey, that was a highly advanced piece of Kraang tech that was used to transport one’s consciousness - I can’t even  _ pretend _ to understand how it worked.” 

Casey waved his hand as if to dismiss the thought that it could possibly be so difficult. “I once watched you tear apart a Kraang ship and use the scraps to rebuild a roadster. And let’s be honest, we probably would have done that for fun, even if there wasn’t a mutant car on the loose.” Casey let out a chuckle at the memory.

Donatello had to admit, it had been some fine craftsmanship that he and Casey put into their racecar. Of course this brain switching device was going to prove more difficult in the fact that it was completely unheard of technology, but then again, so were alien portals that opened to new dimensions; And he had managed to hack into one of those with some spare parts and a broken toaster! 

Surprisingly, the hoodlum’s words of encouragement were helping to uplift his own spirits, if only a little. Casey was right, he could fix this.

Looking down at his own hands, the currently five-fingered ones that were not his own, he nodded to himself in acceptance, he  _ had _ to fix this.

* * *

 

**End** **Chapter Four - Dawning Realization**

**Feedback is love! Tell us what you think!**

**~Quee & Suthnmeh**


	5. A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frustrated by the state of his predicament, April does her best to cheer Donnie up.

**Chapter 5 - ‘A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing’**

**A/N: Thanks again to our awesome Beta FeatherArtist! This chapter was posted on ff.net while ago, but for some reason, I forgot to post it here.**

Ascending the stairs, April entered her apartment to a string of Japanese curse words coming from the small office in the corner of the living room. The two boys had returned earlier from their reconnaissance mission with the disappointing news about the state of the mind-swapping machine.  Donatello, who had been in a rather gloomy mood, requested some time alone to work out a plan. 

As requested, April and Casey gave him his space and retreated to the store below to keep watch over the unhelpful prisoner and allow Donnie some time to cool off. But after the first hour had come and gone, April decided it was past time to check in on things.

At the sound of another curse word, April cringed and peeked around the corner searching out her frustrated friend. 

The body that Donatello currently possessed was hunched over the small wooden desk, tense muscles visible through the tight cotton fabric of his shirt. She stood for a moment in the doorway, watching as he ran a hand through his messy head of hair, before letting his arm drop onto the desktop, his posture speaking volumes to his current state.

“I take it things are not going well?” April announced herself, causing him to straighten up in surprise as he turned to face her.

“Not really, no.” He admitted with a sigh. “I wanted some ammunition for the next time I talked to our prisoner. So I’ve been doing some research and the guy’s a ghost. No records, no warrants, I can’t even find a Visa or a current ID!” Donnie shook his head as he gestured angrily at the computer screen behind him. “I’m trapped in a body that I don’t even have a name for!”

“You ran facial recognition checks?” April asked walking over to perch herself on the arm of the nearby sofa. She was very much aware that in order to accomplish his research, he most likely hacked into a system or two he was not supposed to be in; including electronic databases of mugshots for wanted criminals. 

He nodded. “I even ran fingerprints.” Holding up one hand, he jiggled the five fingers around. “But the search came up empty.”

Trying her best to stay positive, April pointed out the only helpful thing she could pull from this disappointing information. “Well, at least we know you aren’t going to get arrested walking down the street, so that’s good.” 

He responded with an unimpressed roll of his eyes, which April chose to ignore. Standing tall, she placed a hand on her hip and asked, “So what’s next?”

Donatello spun in his chair to once again face his screen. “I’m looking for a location to work on the device. It’s too big to bring here, and it’s too dangerous to keep it in Shredder’s warehouse.” 

“Have you found anything?” She leaned forward, placing her hands on the back of his office chair. Looking over his shoulder she could tell that he had been busy, the screen was full of city maps and vacancy listings for warehouses and factories.

“I found a few promising options, but I still need to check over some things.” He paused and glanced down at the pad of paper besides him, where he had jotted down notes. “Other than that, it’s mostly waiting until the end of the work day. As soon as the traffic dies down at the docks, the guys can help me load up the machine for transfer. Eventually, I’ll try and interrogate our prisoner again, but I want to let him sit for awhile.”

“So we’re waiting?” April clarified, unable to hide the hint of a smile as she mentally planned a few things of her own.

Donatello’s last sigh was even bigger than his usual ones, and he followed it with a slow nod. “Pretty much.”

“Then I might as well use this time to take care of a few things.” She walked across the room, sat on a bench near the front door and began lacing up her shoes.

Donatello’s curiosity was enticed by her vague description, just as she’d hope it would be and he looked back over his shoulder to watch her with squinted eyes. “Where are you going?”

Tying the last knot she stood up and smiled over at him. “I’m going to run to the shop down the street and get you some clothes.” She grabbed a light hoodie off the hook near the door and slipped an arm into one sleeve as she awaited his reaction.

Rising from his chair he moved towards her, his hands going up in defense. “Oh no! No. This is a temporary issue, there is no reason we need to put together a  _ wardrobe _ .” 

April was expecting she’d have to level with him, and she already knew what to say. “Look Donnie, we have no idea how long it’s going to take to get this machine working again.”

She watched him deflate as she brought to light the reality of the situation, even though he was well aware of it. “I’m sorry, but for now you’re stuck with this body… do you really want to be walking around in my Dad’s old sweats and that tiny T-shirt, as flattering as it may be?” She raised an eyebrow while exaggeratedly looking him up and down.

Following her gaze, he glanced at his snug pants and T-shirt that was practically a second skin, and let out a sigh. “Ugh. Fine.”

April smiled in triumph, getting him to agree to the idea was only part of the plan. “So you wanna come with me?” 

“Come with you?” He started, before she saw the realization slowly cross his face. “I  _ can _ come with you.” 

She nodded enthusiastically. While it wasn’t for the best of reasons, she figured it could only help his mood to get him out of the apartment for awhile. And she had to admit, she was looking forward to walking down the street with him for the first time. 

A slow smile spread across his face. “Yeah. I would like that.”

* * *

 

Trudging downstairs to the antique store below, they spotted Casey tipping back in the chair placed up at the front desk. He looked up at them, brows scrunched together, letting his weight bring the chair down to the floor. “Where are you two headed?”

“We’re just running down the street to get Donnie some clothes, do you mind keeping watch for a bit?” 

“You want me to babysit  _ Gap-tooth _ so you can go play make-over?” Casey’s lips were curled into an unimpressed frown as he glared at the pair. 

“Hey!” Donnie fussed at Casey’s expected jab about his real body. 

April rolled her eyes at her friends’ whining before switching into her very best persuasive voice. “C’mon Casey, please? I promise we’ll be quick and we can grab some lunch on the way back - just tell us what you want from Marco’s?” 

Casey huffed and crossed his arms. “I’ll take my usual.”

* * *

 

As promised, the distance to the store was not far, but Donatello quickly realized that he was unaccustomed to walking down a sunlit sidewalk on a busy New York street. He felt like no matter where he moved, he was somehow in the way, bumping into people from all sides. 

“Sorry.” He blurted out as a gruff woman plowed into the side of him in her hurry to get by. 

“Excuse me.” He apologized again when he backed into a lanky teen beside him in an effort to get out of the way.

April slowed her pace and scooted up beside him, elbowing him playfully in the ribs. “You’re acting like a tourist. This is the Big City, if you apologize for every person you bump into, you’re going to lose your voice before we get down the block.”

“Sorry.” Donnie winced at his automatic response. “I’ve never been around so many people before.”

“Don’t worry, I shall protect you.” She sang out in a silly voice before taking his hand in hers, pulling in closer to his side. With her free hand she reached across their intertwined arms hugging herself tight against him as she leaned in.

Startled by the innocent gesture, he looked down as she laced their fingers. They fit so well together and it seemed so casual and easy to just take this place beside her and walk hand in hand. It was the type of thing he could never offer her in his normal form. Being temporarily stuck in this man’s body had plenty of downsides, but this had turned into a pretty awesome upside.

Trying to retain his cool and collected demeanor, Donnie pulled up a topic for easy conversation. “So, how’s school going? How’d you do on that chemistry test?”

“Passed with flying colors, thanks to you!” April smiled. “My GPA would still be in the crapper if it wasn’t for your kind and patient tutoring.”

“I aim to please.” He smiled down at her as they walked.

“I must admit, getting through school is  _ much _ easier without the fear of alien abduction looming over me. I definitely spent more time last year fighting for my life than studying.” She shook her head, as if to rid herself of the thoughts.

“If only we could get the Foot to leave us alone, we’d be golden.” He smirked, gaining a much appreciated giggle from April. “Hey,” Donnie exclaimed, a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Don’t you and Casey have class today?” 

“Oh yeah,” April kept her focus straight ahead, avoiding his questioning glare. “But, I just have the one lab and work study in the afternoon, I’m not missing much. And really, what were the odds Casey was going to show up today anyways?”

Donnie frowned at the last comment, he would give anything for the opportunity to attend school and it irked him that puckhead Casey would do just about anything to avoid it.

“I didn’t mean to make you miss school today, that’s certainly not going to help your grades!” His shoulders sagged from guilt. April had been struggling to improve her grades before graduation, and he was trying to do whatever he could to help.

“It’s okay really. One day’s not going to hurt anything.” April turned with a smile and a wink. “But if we get a call from my school today, you get to tell them that I’m sick.”

* * *

 

They continued to chat as she maneuvered them down the sidewalk to the clothing store, veering effortlessly around obstacles and shoving between gaps in the crowd. Donnie had completely lost focus on what they had been saying when she had to let go of his hand to push him through the revolving door and into the store. The place was huge, two stories of clothing rack after clothing rack and headless white mannequins perched on pedestals. 

For Donatello it was the kind of thing he had only ever seen in movies. Even when they roamed the city at night, they kept to the rooftops and rarely saw the inside of buildings that weren’t shifty warehouses or villain lairs or somewhere else one might expect to have a fight.   

“Men’s is this way.” He heard April’s voice and turned to see her petite stature disappear between racks of pants, the bobbing of her flame colored hair and yellow headband serving as a beacon to follow.

He caught up to her as she looked over an enormous wall of jeans. “What size do you think you need?” She asked out loud. 

Donnie paused to consider. He was used to being the one consistently asked a series of random questions, but realized, on this particular topic, he had absolutely no clue. “I don’t even know what my options are.” He confessed.

“Oh right.” April shook her head to herself, smiling. 

She leaned in and scanned across the shelves while talking quietly to herself. “Hmm, you’re a little shorter than my dad, but more defined around the waist…. Let’s try these.” 

Grabbing a few different options, she led him to the back of the store where he noticed stalls of sorts. “Here, try these on so we can narrow down your size.”

“Oh ok.” He responded a little quizzically while accepting the pile shoved into his arms. “In here?” 

“Yeah. I’ll wait here, so come on out once you have the first pair on.” She plopped down on one of the cushioned benches lined up in front of the stalls. 

Luckily, it was still rather early and there was hardly any people in the store, the general population most likely at work or school. As it was, Donatello still found it odd to be standing behind a tiny plywood door in the middle of a public space to remove his clothes. Even knowing that he’d unintentionally flashed April just that morning, he still felt kind of uncomfortable about it. 

His family didn’t really have a lot of experience with wearing clothing or feeling ashamed for their lack of it. The shape of their large shells and the way it connected to their bodies didn’t really work well with the traditional fit of most human clothing. And since they were turtles and could keep their more private body parts tucked away behind their shells, there was no need.

For his father in his mutated form, he understood that being able to wear his robe and undergarments provided him with a certain amount of dignity (as well as a reminder of his old life). But even then, he had worn that same tattered and repaired robe for many years, the convenience of going to a store was not an option for them and so it was a completely new experience. 

Slipping off the sweat pants he had borrowed from Mr. O’Neil he pulled on the first pair of jeans in the stack, zipping up the front and struggling with the button. He’d always assumed life would be easier with smaller hands, but he just couldn’t get a hang of the extra fingers and found himself fumbling more than he should be.

“Let’s see them.” He heard April’s voice from the other side of the door.

Slowly he swung the door open and stepped into the bright fluorescent lighting. April stood up from the bench shaking her head as she approached, walking around behind him. “Which are these?” She asked herself outloud.

The feeling of April’s small hands suddenly on his hips caught him off guard, but he quickly realized she was just positioning him to read the tag at his waistband and shook off the nervous flutter of butterflies he felt whenever she got too close. 

“I’ll be right back, you can go take these off.” She gave her order before darting back out into the sea of men’s clothing

Doing as he was told, he waited pantless in the stall for less than a minute before jumping back at the new pair flung over the top of the door. 

“Try these.” She hollered enthusiastically.

The next time he emerged from the tiny room, she had an armful of shirts and was nodding her head with a grin. “Those are much better!” Her bright blue eyes were full of mirth that Donnie hadn’t seen for awhile: she was definitely enjoying this. Perhaps Casey’s ‘makeover’ comment had not been as far off as he originally thought. 

They spent the next while with him trying on more than enough clothing to have humored April, and at one point he finally had to turn her away, reminding her that he only needed a few items. She stuck out her tongue in response, having obviously gotten carried away with the fun of getting him to play dress-up. 

Donnie was in the stall re-dressing to leave, swapping out the stretched sweatpants in favor of wearing the new jeans out of the store. As he zipped up his fly, April reminded him through the door to keep the tag visible so they wouldn’t forget to pay for the item. He patted his waistband to find the price sticker hanging by a plastic hook in the back. Twisting his torso awkwardly to see the item hanging behind him, he inspected it closely, feeling his brow stitch together. Grabbing the discarded sweats, he practically kicked the stall door open to face the surprised teen waiting for him. 

“Is this really how much this costs?!” He asked, flabbergasted. “We should NOT be spending money on this!”

April’s face instantly relaxed and she gave a little chuckle, standing from the bench and pulling the shopping bag up over her shoulder. She tilted her head in that way she did when she thought he was overreacting. “It’s fine, Donnie. Everything we picked up was on sale, and Dad already said I could borrow his card for a little shopping while he was gone.”

“But he intended for you to be shopping for yourself, not dressing this  _ imposter _ .” He once again gestured to his current body with an irritated fan of his hands only to be met with a smirk and a roll of her eyes. Deflated by her reaction, he realized that his argument was falling on deaf ears, and accepted the situation with a toss of his hands into the air. “Ok fine, but I’m keeping a total and paying you guys back once this is all over!”  

April simply nodded at his announcement before heading toward the check out. Still in a huff, Donnie followed blindly, not paying attention to the aisle April had gone down. Until suddenly she was holding up two packages for him to choose from. “What do you think? Are you a boxers or a briefs kinda guy?”

“What?” Donnie said when he finally focused on the packages, realizing they were decorated with cropped-in images of beefy glistening men clad only in underwear. He could feel his face growing warm from embarrassment and whispered in a mortified tone. “If I didn’t know what size of pants to get, I definitely don’t know what my preference in underwear is.” 

“Okay then, we’ll meet in the middle. Boxer-briefs it is.” April smiled, putting the two original packages back on their respective hooks and grabbed a new one. 

“Do we really need that?” Donnie asked, still hushed, glancing around to make sure no other patrons could hear them. 

“Trust me, you are not going to want to run around in jeans ‘commando’, so unless you want to keep on wearing that one pair…” She trailed off with a smirk.

“Ugh, fine.” Donnie grabbed the offending object from her and stuffed it down into their shopping bag. “ _ Now _ can we be done?”

* * *

 

They paid for their things and were back out on the sidewalk, each with a shopping bag in tow, their free hands interlocking in a comfortable grasp between them as April once again guided him down the crowded sidewalk. She turned them down a new street taking them down an alternate path from before, and providing plenty of fresh scenery to take in. With the sun straight above them, the day was now in full bloom and the noise of the world was oppressive; from honking cars, to angry shouts and the never-ending clamor of construction. 

‘The City That Never Sleeps’ had certainly earned its nickname even in the dead-of-night hours when most reasonable folks were in bed and the Hamato family took their patrol. But Donatello had never realized that it was such a quiet drop in the bucket compared to the roar of daylight.

April must have noticed his questioning glances at the new buildings around them and nudged her shoulder into his, guiding him down off the curb. She gestured towards the doorway they approached with a tilt of her head. “Figured you might want to recharge.”

Having not quite fully understood her comment initially, he focused again on the shop they were approaching, this time noticing the small coffee cup illustrations that decorated the black awning which read, ‘Cup ‘O Joe’. A customer slipped out of the door and the bitter aroma that he knew so well finally hit his desensitized human nose. Had he been in his regular body, he’s sure he would have noticed the delectable smell from a block away, but as it was, the buffoon’s nose that he was currently “borrowing” was practically lacking the 5th of the senses.    

A well tailored businessman who had just exited seemed to be in quite the hurry and focused purely on his phone. He managed to just stop himself before plowing into Donnie, making him jump back in surprise. It still felt uncomfortable to be surrounded by so many ‘normal’ humans and for half a second he had forgotten he didn’t need to hide his face. The apology had already rolled from Donnie’s lips before he could stop himself, and he winced at April shaking her head beside him. 

“This is my favorite local place, sometimes I’ll come here to study after school. I’m no aficionado, but supposedly this is the best coffee in the area.” April reached out to pull the door open while juggling the shopping bag. With a dreamy sigh she added. “Their pastries are to die for.” 

The door chimed behind them as Donnie reluctantly let go of her hand to step into the small shop. The café was busy and crowded, just as he would have imagined from what he had seen in television and movies. People sat at chairs and tables of all different styles and types around the cozy space. The room was decorated in dark woods and gave a sensation of being in a rustic cabin, a few overstuffed arm chairs were tucked in a corner near a small fireplace adding to the allure. He spotted a young woman in one of them, curled up reading a book.  

“What are you going to get?” April asked as she stepped beside him, disrupting his observations. He followed her focus to the handwritten chalk menu that hung above the counter. 

Donatello took a moment to appreciate the simple question. The idea of walking into a coffee shop and ordering a drink was something so insignificant, but to someone who spent his life hiding from the world, it was a special privilege. “I feel like I should try something a little more extravagant than my usual black.” he confessed with a smile, his eyes trailing over the seemingly endless options. 

“Oh, you definitely should.” April nodded, her face lighting up. “I think I’m going to try something new too. Let’s live it up!”

They waited patiently in line, people-watching the eccentric group of individuals surrounding them, until it was their turn to order. April stepped up to the counter getting a blueberry scone and something with mocha in the name. Turning back to him, she told the barista. “And whatever my friend would like.”

April watched as Donnie approached the counter, the familiar pink of his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth in concentration; the unlimited choices of beverages stumping him as much as a complicated line of code. He restarted his order three times, changing his mind as the words tumbled from his lips. The barista, dressed all in black, with multiple facial piercings, appeared highly unamused by his lack of decision-making skills, and rolled  her eyes while adjusting his order for the third time on the touch screen in front of her.

“Ooh and I’ll take one of those cookies too!” Donnie pointed excitedly into the pastry case, a goofy grin on his face, like a child in a candy store. 

“Great.” The barista replied monotoned. “Name?” 

“Huh?” Donnie asked, his attention shooting back up from the spread of sugary treats tempting him.

“For the drink?” The edge of her mouth quirked up, the gunmetal lip ring in the corner adding to the sneer. 

He stood tall and seemed to ponder over the question longer than needed. “Oh right, ah.. Do–Donald?” 

“You seem real sure about that.” She commented, her sarcasm completely lost on the teen.  With another slow-motion roll of her black outlined eyes, she scribbled his name - spelled obnoxiously wrong - onto the side of a paper cup. 

Shaking her head at their exchange, April stepped in and swiped her card, leaving the lady a nice tip before grabbing Donnie’s arm and pulling him off to the side so the people behind them could order. 

“I don’t know why I said that. It felt weird to use my real name, when I look like this guy.” Donnie spoke under his breath and April had to admit that it probably did feel strange. 

“True, but nobody knows who you actually are, so you can also see it as a free-pass to be whoever you want to be.”

* * *

 

That idea seemed to stick in her intelligent friend’s active mind long after they had received their coffee and sat down to enjoy their treats. 

As it turned out, Donatello was not a fan of the sickly sweet drink he had ended up with –something with caramel and whipped cream on top–, but didn’t hesitate to continue drinking it. They polished off their baked confections and tossed their empty cups into the recycling bin before heading back out into the fresh air, a hint of coffee now permeating their clothing. 

Having watched her friend scarf down his cookie, April decided it was not quite enough joy to get him through the rest of the tiring hours ahead. Who knew if they would get another chance like this to walk down the street together? Their prisoner wasn’t going anywhere, and even though Casey would be grumpy that they left him alone and bored for so long, she figured a milkshake with his lunch would help earn his forgiveness.

She mentally mapped out the perfect route back to her place that went by all of her favorite haunts. It was the first time she’d be able to really show Donnie around her part of town. She was reminded of when her cousins visited from the midwest. Seeing them so enthralled by all of the offerings of the big city had made her appreciate all the things she would often pass over when on her own.

“Up for a little walk? We still have some time to kill and Casey should be fine a bit longer.” She suggested as they headed off, Donnie’s glowing smile igniting her excitement even more. 

She pointed out landmarks as they strolled; the daycare she attended when she was little, the old apartment complex where they lived before her mom disappeared, a tiny local art gallery that she visited often enough that the curator knew her by name. 

Getting into the swing of her mood, Donnie pulled her into an electronics store that was boasting the latest hardware in flashy painted signs across their windows. The man working the floor was well versed in selling the products and seemed entirely unfazed by Donatello’s unimpressed and candid comments, “I’ve found better at the junkyard.” 

Donatello in turn seemed oblivious to the salesman’s flirtatious innuendos and his clear approval of the way her friend’s borrowed shirt fit him so tightly. April had to admit that once he changed from the sweats into the new jeans, the ridiculously small top actually worked with the whole outfit. One thing was clear about this unknown Foot soldier, the guy was ripped, and it was hard to ignore the fact that he was rather pleasing to the eye.  

Their last stop was a used book store that was long and narrow, the kind with a storefront so small it was easy to pass by without even noticing. A grin spread over her face and a sensation of warmth crept into her chest as she watched Donnie’s enthusiastic reaction when they entered. His eyes fluttered shut as he pulled in a whiff of the musty air, distinctly belonging to the old tomes filling the shelf-lined walls from floor to ceiling. 

He darted towards the back of the store, where a wooden sign, labeled ‘Science’ stuck out from the wall. April slowly wandered following him, while reading over the various titles that were on display.

Grabbing an Art History book with a beautiful Degas on the cover, she sank onto the floor beside him, where he was already flipping through a stack of what looked like old text books. They sat quietly near each other, the sound of turning pages a soothing respite from the silence. 

They almost had enough time to forget about the worries of their crazy life, when a sharp shrill chimed from the back of Donnie’s pocket, making them both jump. He hurriedly pulled the phone from his pocket, silencing the alarm with an embarrassed look around.

“Is everything alright?” April asked, glancing over at the small screen.

He scanned through the information with a nod. “Yeah, the guy is just moving around, that’s all.”

“I suppose we should head back.” April had to admit, unable to squelch the disappointment the comment brought with it. “I’m sure Casey’s getting impatient.”

“Yeah, we probably should check in on...” Donnie looked for any prying ears around them. “...our ‘visitor’.” 

He stood up, the old wooden floor creaking beneath him as he shifted on his feet, putting the books back on the shelf where he had found them. She reached for his offered hand and let him pull her up to her feet beside him.

Looking down at the book in her hands, she wistfully sighed, feeling sad that their little distraction had to come to an end. 

“April,” The name caught her attention and she looked up into her friend’s eyes, his height still looming above her even in his new form. “I know I can get rather... pessimistic sometimes. Thank you for cheering me up - I really needed it.” The corners of his eyes creased from a wide smile.

“Of course Donnie.” She reached forward, hesitating for half a second before laying her hand on his forearm. For some reason the physical comfort felt like it wouldn’t provide the same reassurance when he was experiencing it through someone else’s touch. But the resulting goosebumps on his arms confirmed otherwise. “We’ll get you through this. If anyone can get this figured out, it’s us.”

Before she could spend any more time considering where he stood on physical contact, he pulled her forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. 

“Thanks April.” He repeated into her shoulder as he held her close.

She couldn’t help but notice that without his shell, she could actually wrap her arms all the way around his back; the broad and muscle-clad back that felt rather out of place. Some part of her mind chirped up from the depths of her thoughts reminding her that this was just a temporary housing for the boy she cared so much about. But this person in her arms wasn’t her friend, he wasn’t Donnie. Not entirely. And this acknowledgment left her feeling rather troubled. She could only hope it wouldn’t last for long, and they could get him changed back sooner than later. 

With one last squeeze, they broke apart, picking up their shopping bags and heading out the door; the trials of their lives no longer able to be ignored.

 

**End Chapter 5 - ‘A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing’**

**A/N: Thanks for reading, hopefully you enjoyed Donnie’s free time. Goodness knows he needed it before the drama picks up again. ;)**

**~Queequegg & Suthnmeh/Poleepkwana**


	6. A Fly in the Ointment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If he wants any chance of being returned to his normal self, Donnie will have to salvage what he can of the Kraang brain-switching machine. But things never quite go as planned.

**Bet you thought we forgot about this story… well we didn’t! Thanks for those of you that stuck around, and for anyone new: welcome!**

**Many thanks to our beta:** **FeatherArtist!**

* * *

 

**Chapter 6 - A Fly in the Ointment**

Donatello stood at the edge of the rooftop, watching April through a small spyglass. She was sitting on a bench in a small park below him, laughing at the voice of a man he couldn’t see.

“It’s never gonna work.” Raph spoke up from beside him and he turned to glare in his direction. Collapsing the spyglass, he tucked it into the pouch on his belt that fit right into the gap at his side between his shell and plastron. Fiddling his large green fingers together to avoid eye-contact with his brother. 

“She’s a girl, you’re a turtle. Just forget about it already.” Raphael added, when he didn’t respond.

A large free-standing mirror loomed off to his left, just outside of his peripheral and the sun reflected off its surface, catching his attention.  _ That’s an odd place for a mirror. _ The thought crossed his mind very briefly as he stepped closer to look at his reflection; A familiar face staring back. 

Olive speckled skin textured with smooth pebbly scales ran over his bald head and around his beak-like snout where a proper nose should be. Something about his eyes caught his attention, they seemed darker and more intense than usual. 

“You think wearing a human suit is going to make a difference?” Raph sneered from beside him. But Donnie was too intrigued with the swirling pools of blackish brown in his irises to pay any attention to his brother. 

Reaching back he fumbled at the tie in his bandana, loosening it so as to remove the mask and get a better view. But as he pulled the purple fabric away, something strange was happening to his skin. It started to sag and loosen, slowly sliding down off his head as though the mask had been the only thing holding it in place. Like a stretched-out stocking that had snapped from its garter, his entire outer layer continued to slide down his form, shell and all, peeling away as though it had only ever been a cloth-like covering. 

Turning back to the mirror in shock, he saw the face of a human man. The foot assassin’s steely gaze staring back at him, as the rest of his turtle façade pooled around his ankles. 

“That’s not your face. You stole it.” April’s voice was clear behind him and he whipped around to see her standing next to Raphael, a stern look of disappointment painted on her features.  

“But, I…” Donatello wanted to explain that he hadn’t done this on purpose, that he was not happy about the situation, but the glare from April and Raphael seemed to hold him in place like a tractor beam, preventing him from moving.

“I don’t want this.” April turned and hooked her elbow through Raphael’s and the two began to walk away. 

“Don’t go! Don’t leave me!” He managed to shout out. Battling against his body’s prison, he struggled to take a step towards them, but it was as though his legs were trapped in wet cement. Looking down to determine why he was stuck, he realized the man from his reflection had reached through the mirror and grabbed ahold of his arm. He frantically twisted to free himself of his grasp, calling out to April’s retreating form.

“DON’T!—”

Donatello jerked his head up from the desk, his mouth still hanging open from shouting. Frantically, he looked around, needing to steady his mind and find assurance that he was no longer dreaming. 

Taking stock of the situation, he confirmed that he was still in April’s apartment, sitting at her father’s desk in the living room, hunched over his laptop where he must have dozed off. Five-fingered human hands lay splayed across the keys before him and he sighed at the reminder that things were as he had left them, though not as he wanted. 

Confusing snippets of his dream trickled through his thoughts, but he was unwilling to spend any time deciphering their meaning. The entire team had been running on fumes, it was no wonder he had momentarily succumbed to exhaustion, and the randomness of his dream state could be explained with the same reasoning. From his spot near the window, he could see bits of sky beginning to grow warm with oranges and pinks of the fast approaching sunset and it was all he needed to be re-energized. 

The afternoon had dragged on exceptionally slow. After returning with lunch and relieving Casey of his watch-guard duties, they simply needed to wait for quitting time at the docks so they could revisit the warehouse unnoticed, and that time was finally approaching.

He typically sided with Leonardo about taking precautions when it came to their safety and staying in the shadows. But as the hours had crept by, watching the sun slowly move across the sky, he could do nothing but worry. Each passing minute increased the chance that Shredder’s goons could return to the warehouse, or that the assassin chained up in the store below him might do something desperate, putting his friends –and his own body– in danger. But as it was, a team of mutant and human ninjas pulling up in their rather conspicuous vehicles in broad daylight amongst a bustling crowd of dock workers, was not ideal.

And so instead he had worked on furthering his plan of what to do once they acquired the machine. After narrowing down the best places he could think of to reassemble the device, the one closest to April’s place seemed like the best option. He’d need to move between the two locations, to help keep an eye on the prisoner, and the health of his terrapin body. The defunct steel mill sitting about a quarter mile to the East, looked to have all the things he required; most importantly a large open space to work.

The only other need he had was for basic accommodations, since he’d be working there for at least a couple of days. Currently, he was hacked into the city’s utilities grid, ensuring that the unused factory would have running water and electricity, all the while going unnoticed. A feat which he had accomplished many times over the years, keeping his family living as comfortably as possible. 

He must have dozed off while waiting for the decryption code to finish running. A flashing indication on his screen showed that the hack had successfully finished several minutes earlier. 

Letting out a sigh into the empty living room, he absently rubbed at the crick in the back of his neck. Hours earlier April and Casey had retired to the store below them. They had tried their best to help with things, but eventually it ended up with him on the computer and little reason for them to stick around to watch him work. 

Besides, April had done more than she probably even realized in her attempt to lift his spirits earlier that day. April, his figurative ray of sunshine with her optimistic attitude and persistent encouragement, was one of the few constants he could rely on in his crazy life. He felt a strain of guilt for having dragged her into this situation, but at the same time, there was nowhere else he’d rather be right now, than with her by his side - despite the troubling images from his dream. Something about the comforting familiarity of having her support eased his worries around the current situation, if only a bit. 

Tapping the screen on his phone, he verified the time. It was getting close. He had arranged for the guys to meet them at the store with both the Shell Raiser and Party Wagon in tow. They would head to Shredder’s warehouse as soon as the end of the work shift approached. It wouldn’t be dark yet, but the traffic at that end of the docks was sure to be minimal on a Friday afternoon. 

With a deep breath, channeling his focus and his energy, he quickly closed programs and shut down his laptop. Standing up from the desk chair he felt the creaking of unfamiliar joints, a good 8 years older than the ones he was used to. The sore muscles unafraid to remind him of the state they were in, whenever possible. With any luck, he’d be back in his own battered and bruised body before either one had the proper time to heal. 

Tucking his laptop under one arm, he grabbed his forgotten coffee and tossed back the last of the cold and bitter brew in one gulp. Walking to the kitchen, he set the mug in the sink, before descending to the store to collect his things.

* * *

 

The roar of the Shell Raiser approaching the back alley could be heard just as Donatello finished gathering some borrowed tools and spare parts to his already hefty bags.

“They’re here!” He hollered out towards the front of the store, where April was digging through drawers for helpful tools and Casey was ‘keeping an eye on the prisoner’ from a rather comfy looking spot on the couch. 

The bell on the back door chimed as Leonardo entered with Raphael right behind him. 

“You guys are actually on time.” Donnie announced, failing to hide his surprise that his brothers had arrived when he had requested.

“We didn’t forget Donnie. The  _ fifty  _ or so reminders you sent, made sure of that.” Raph complained.

Walking past him into the store, Raph made it a point to bump against his side just to be annoying. At his brother’s reaction, Donnie muttered a derisive ‘thanks’, realizing that he may have been a bit too persistent with his reminder texts. 

Unexpectedly, the bell chimed once more and they all glanced up to see the youngest Hamato brother enter, looking a little worse for wear. The clean white bandage on his collar bone, standing out like a beacon against his olive toned skin, mottled with bruises. 

“Mikey!” Donnie exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you’d be joining us tonight. How are you feeling?”

Donatello took a step towards his brother when he saw Mikey’s face shift to one of suspicion. He was immediately reminded of his unrecognizable new look and paused in his tracks just a few feet from where he stood in the doorway. 

“Whoah Donnie, is that you?” Mikey asked, his expression glowing with delighted wonder. “I mean the guys told me what was going on, but it’s still so weird to see it.” 

Donnie couldn’t help the grin at his younger brother’s childlike astonishment. “Yeah, it’s me. And yes, it is very weird.” He gave a friendly smile and attempted to look non-menacing.

Mikey stood in his place and tilted his head, one side of his browline raised, as he inspected the face of the man that Donnie was currently occupying. “It’s like you’re not you, but some guy pretending to be you.”

“The others,” Donnie gestured to his brothers, Casey and April, “all asked me a personal question only I would know; something to prove myself. Did you want to ask me something?” Donnie gently suggested, as everyone stood around him watching.

The young turtle nodded as he seemed to take a moment to think of something before posing his question. 

“Ok, so remember that one time we pranked Raph when we were kids–” And then, as if just remembering that the brother he spoke of was standing there listening, Mikey stepped in closer and whispered his question into Donnie’s ear. 

Donatello’s mind had already been reeling, wondering exactly  _ which _ childhood prank his brother could be referring to, but before he could spend too much time Mikey’s whispered explanation made it all clear. “I saw an opening to mess with Raph, so just roll with it.” He stifled his own giggle in response to the prank and asked his question. “What was your favorite childhood snack before you discovered Pop Tarts?”

Mikey stepped back with one brow raised, awaiting his reply, all the while keeping a subtle eye on the way Raph was squirming just behind him. 

Donnie had to chuckle at the scenario, it was refreshing to be assured that even with all the craziness in their lives, some things never change. And Dr. Prankenstein was a welcome reminder. 

Donnie pretended to consider his answer for a split second before his reply. “Ah yes, peanut butter.” He threw an evil grin in Mikey’s direction to add to the effect and the two of them burst out laughing.

“What the hell?!” Raphael barked from beside them. “What was that about? What prank? What did you do with peanut butter?”

“Ha! I knew it was you, man!” Mikey gasped between bouts of laughter, growing stronger as Raphael grew more annoyed.

Raph was full on fuming as the two continued to laugh at his expense, his fists balled up beside him. “So help me, if you don’t tell me what the hell you are talking about—”

“They’re just trying to get under your skin, Raph.” April stepped in, placing a calming hand on the hot head’s arm. 

“And doing a decent job of it!” Casey guffawed with a shit-eating grin. Leo stood beside him with a similar smirk, neither caring that they weren’t privy to the joke.

April directed her gaze back to Donatello and the look on her face was silently telling him that now would be a good time to wrap this up. 

“So anyways, _how_ _are you_ feeling, Mikey?” Donatello pressed on, pushing down his fit of giggles while ignoring the red burning in Raph’s eyes. 

Knowing his ever-positive brother would sugarcoat the truth so as to ease his guilt, he stepped right up to Mikey’s side and pulled back the gauze bandage to take a look himself. The cut had been long and deep, but Master Splinter’s steady hands had done an excellent job with the sutures. Donatello took comfort seeing Mikey up and about and joking like his usual self, but also couldn’t ignore the fact that Mikey’s coloring was still rather pale.

“I’m good and ready to help out. Sensei got me all stitched up.” He waved a hand through the air like it was no big deal. “And I totally rested up all afternoon like I was supposed to.”

“Yeah, eating pizza and laying around playing video games with Ice Cream Kitty.” Raph clarified with a frown, still fuming from the teasing.

“Damn right!” Mikey nodded with an enthusiastic thumbs up. And though he tried his very best to hide it, Donnie couldn’t help but notice the slight waver in his brother’s movements that made him reluctant to actually have him traipsing through the city tonight.

“Alright Donnie, this is your plan.” Leo stepped forward and held up a hand, a signal to end the small talk so that they could begin. “How do you want us to split up?”

“April volunteered to keep watch over our ‘guest’ while we’re out. So she’ll stay here.” He explained to the group. “Mikey, maybe you should stay here too…”

April’s forehead creased in annoyance as she spoke up. “Don’t forget I’m a kunoichi, this guy’s chained up in a cell, I think I can handle this on my own.”

“Yeah, baby-sitting duty is pretty much the most boring thing ever.” Casey grumbled. Yet another of many times he had complained that day about what April and Donnie had left him to do all morning.

“I wasn’t trying to imply that you couldn’t handle it yourself.” Donatello scrambled to explain, completely ignoring Casey in the process. “I just thought it best for Mikey to take it easy.”

Mikey nodded in agreement. "I know you can take care of yourself, April. But you have no idea what this guy can do.” There was an unusual seriousness in his tone. A fact that —indicated by the raised brows around the room— did not go unnoticed. He laid one of his large hands on her shoulder while arguing his case. A silent assurance that he believed in her. “Besides, I’m not going to be super helpful moving heavy stuff. So let me keep you company!”

As if to make a point, he clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, the quick movement  making him flinch in pain.

Not wanting to step on any more toes, Donnie simply looked to April for her vote. She seemed to consider Mikey’s pathetic puppy-dog look and rolled her eyes with a smile. “Okay, sure. The company would actually be nice.”

Taking a short sigh of relief to have skirted that fight, Donnie clapped his hands together, drawing attention back to himself. “Alright then. That’s settled.”

“Okay, the rest of us: Leo, you and Casey take the Party Wagon, while Raph and I will follow in the Shell Raiser. We’ll take slightly different routes to draw a little less suspicion.” 

Casey and his brothers confirmed their assignment with a sharp nod. Donnie pointed to his bags of gear packed and waiting near the door. “Take these out and load up. Let’s do this.”

“You know a ‘please’ wouldn’t hurt.” Raph complained as he grabbed one of the bags laden with heavy tools. “What the hell is in this thing?”

“ _ Please _ take this bag of tools I’ll need to reassemble the machine, out to the van.” Donatello clarified between clenched teeth and a fake smile.

“C’mon guys, let’s get going.” Leo added in a full leader-like command. Picking up the other bag beside Raph and following him out the door.

*****

As the group prepared to leave, Donatello stopped by the locked closet door to take one last glance at the prisoner. The intruder in his body seemed to be meditating and gave no indication that he’d noticed Donnie peeking in. 

Earlier, when they had returned from their shopping excursion he had once again attempted to interrogate him, but quickly gave up after the prisoner had made it clear he wouldn’t be answering any questions. 

Something about seeing his own body sitting in that makeshift cell was unsettling on its own. But the unease of the silent treatment, had made it even more so. He hadn’t been expecting any change within the small room, but confirming the prisoner was still locked up where they could at least keep an eye on him, gave him a small sense of security before heading out.

With his nose practically pressed against the small glass window of the door, he jolted at the feeling of a warm hand on his arm, spinning around to see the concerned face of his best friend before him. 

“Be careful out there tonight.” April said softly, tilting her head to the side in a gentle smile and taking a slow breath. It was the look she made when she was concerned, but trying not to let it show. 

“We will. Wish us luck that maybe things aren’t as bad as they looked from outside.” He quirked his lips in a hopeful grin.

“Good luck.” She leaned up on her toes and gave him a quick hug, taking the advantageous position to whisper into his ear. “And don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on Mikey.”

“Thanks, April. You two be careful as well.” Reluctantly he stepped out of her hold and turned back with a brief goodbye wave before following the guys out the back door.

* * *

 

Just as suspected, the pedestrian traffic on the docks proved to be scarce by late afternoon, with most of the workers having headed out for the weekend. The two vans pulled around back of the warehouse without causing much of a scene. The teams exited the vehicles and spread out to their various positions around the building. 

“All clear from the roof, no movement inside.” Leo’s voice rang out through the com links they all sported. Donatello found himself nodding even though his response could not be seen from where he stood by the back door. 

“Same from over here. Time to let us in.” Raph’s impatient response soon followed. 

It was the signal Donnie had been waiting for; once he had confirmation the building was still clear, he initiated his encryption app to unlock the coded panel that had been securing the warehouse’s side door. 

A whirring of mechanical components could be heard as the panel’s programming was quickly overridden, before stopping when the light switched to a bright green indicating the door was unlocked. 

Quickly, he stepped through the door and connected his T-phone to the panel inside, which ran the security of the entire building. Another few seconds passed, and the layout for the entire building was blipping in green on the digital map.

“Ok, security is off. You’re good to enter.” Donnie spoke back through the com links to everyone.

“I could have just broken in through this window. Remind me why we care about being nice to Shredder’s warehouse?” Raph asked. 

“Because this is, as you said,  _ Shredder’s _ warehouse. It would significantly complicate things if we set off an alarm, alerting him that we’re here.” Donnie explained, for what he was sure was the third time.

A gruff sigh of resignation followed, but with no further complaints. 

Hitting the controls beside the entrance, Donnie opened two of the garage doors along the back docking side, so that Casey, who was waiting at the vehicles, could pull them in. With a satisfying groan of chains and gears, he could hear them opening in the distance and the whirr of the ShellRaiser being put into gear. 

The little sunlight peeking in through the high set windows was fading fast as evening approached, leaving most of the large space in a dark shadow. Swiping across the security panel Donnie quickly identified the light controls and switched them on, one at a time. 

“Turning on lights.” He warned into the comm as the giant fluorescent bulbs began humming to life. 

Just as a section towards the back began to illuminate, there was a loud pop and a strange crackling as some broken bulbs failed to perform, most likely from the explosion damage. He quickly shut that section back off, concerned that there could be dangling fixtures or live wires; leaving the center in a strange shadow. 

Having finished his prep, Donnie shoved the phone into the back pocket of his pants to free up his hands, and moved cautiously into the large ominous space. They had done their due diligence of inspecting things from the outside, but with the way his luck had been going, he wasn’t going to let his guard down. 

From the inside, the large brick warehouse seemed fairly ordinary for what one would expect. Large shipping crates were lined in row after row, stacked high enough on the cement floor to prevent seeing around them, and hiding the more nefarious contents from prying eyes. About halfway down on one side, there was a large mezzanine office which had sat above the main floor, but now seemed to be precariously drooping on one side. Some girders that had once helped hold it in place, were bent and twisted from the explosion and dangling down beside it. As if to emphasize the extent of damage, some loose rubble from the crumbling side of the office lazily tumbled as he stood scanning the scene. 

It was strange, he had just been here the night before, digging himself out of a pile of rubble. Somehow he had escaped, but he could not recall exactly how he had gotten out of the building. If he had gone out this door would it have still been locked and secured? Before he could wonder any more, Leo called his name from behind a stack of crates. 

Making his way around the large wooden towers, in the direction of Leo’s voice and towards the toppling office, the scene became more in-line with his hazy memories of rubble. 

Unfortunately, things  _ were _ just as bad as they had appeared from the windows he and Casey had peeked in the night before. Rounding the last stack of crates he was met with the remnants of the explosion. It was clear the Kraang Switching Device had been at the epicenter, and it would need to be determined whether it was something Baxter had done wrong or something else that had caused it to explode. 

It was both rewarding and disconcerting to find the machine left from the previous night. On one hand, he was grateful that Shredder’s goons hadn’t cleared it out, but on the other hand, it was obvious that they hadn’t deemed it worth salvaging. Apparently, they weren’t overly concerned about stranding one of their Foot soldiers in the wrong body.

The mind-switching Kraang device had been torn to pieces. It was a wonder that both he and the foot soldier had managed to survive the explosion. The once shiny glimmer of the silver alien metal was tarnished with soot and scratches, twisted and warped and mixed in among the remnants of the dangling office wall that had hung above it. The purple alien power cells that usually glowed with energy, lay dull and lifeless. And Donnie couldn’t help but start a mental checklist of all the parts he didn’t know how to replace. 

“What now, Donnie?” Leo asked as they all stood around silently observing the wreckage. 

With a shake of his head, to clear stray thoughts, Donatello took a deep breath and relayed his plan. “We need to collect as many of the parts as we can. If it looks like Kraang hardware; pack it up.” 

He pointed to the largest parts of the machine that remained standing despite the damage around it. “Leo and Raph, start loading these larger pieces into the vans. Casey and I will start collecting any stray pieces into some of these crates.”    

“Are you sure you’re able to help, Donnie?” Raph snarked as he approached one side of the large device and tested its weight. “I wouldn’t want you to get your outfit dirty.” 

Donatello couldn’t restrain himself from the glance down at the crisp new jeans and tee he was sporting. They were pretty casual, but next to Casey in his grungy spray-paint spattered clothes and his brothers in only well-worn belts and wraps, he did look a bit over-dressed for the occasion.

Casey, who had just kicked over a decoy wooden crate, unceremoniously emptying its few contents onto the floor, let out a howling laugh at Raphael’s crack.  “You have no idea dude! April actually took him shopping today!”

“What? Seriously?” Raph exclaimed with a look of disbelief, dropping the leg of the machine back down with a loud thud. “We were cleaning up the damage from your doppleganger back at the lair, while you were out playing ‘Make-over’?” 

“HA!” Casey sputtered at Raph’s comment, pointing at him as he practically keeled over. 

“It wasn’t like that.” Donnie tried his best to argue, but he could feel his cheeks heat up as Casey’s laughter continued. “It’s not like I could just walk around in bloody, battle-torn ninja gear without drawing suspicion!” 

“You’re usually a 6ft walking turtle, Don - you ALWAYS draw suspicion! Hence the whole idea of sticking to the shadows.” Raph pointed an annoyed finger in his direction, his piercing green eyes rolling for good measure. “You just couldn’t pass up a chance to pretend you’re a human and prance around the city with April!”

This comment spurred Casey’s laughter, and the young man slapped his knee in emphasis. “Oooh, he’s got you there, dude!”

“Knock it off you guys!” Leo chastised from the other side of the hunk of machine that Raph was no longer lifting. 

“Awww are we not being nice enough to wittle Donnie?” Raph spoke in a mock baby voice.

“No seriously, shut up. I thought I heard something.” Leo held up his hand in a signal and Casey’s laughter cut out immediately.

“Is that a buzzing sound?” Donnie asked, his voice low enough that only Leo who stood nearby could hear it.

Leo nodded silently and gestured at the mezzanine office above them. Just then, a loose brick was tossed through one of the office’s far windows and the buzzing sound intensified as a familiar mutated fly darted out through the opening. 

“It’s Boxer Stackman!” Leo shouted. 

“Take ‘em down before he can get to the skylights!” Raph shouted as he and Leo launched over the largest pile of rubble and took off following his escape route. 

Reaching up over this shoulder for his bo staff, Donatello was momentarily thrown off when the makeshift harness for his shell-less back left it perched at a slightly different angle. Scrambling to reach around and grab it, wasted precious seconds of response time, but he watched as Casey’s sharp reflexes took over, dropping the piece of metal he was holding, while whipping the hockey stick from his bag, and swinging at the nearest object beside him on the floor. The scrap hunk of metal flew in a perfect trajectory, knocking into Baxter’s wings and causing him to drop in altitude. 

After he finally obtained his weapon, he broke into a sprint to follow his brothers towards the giant fly, zigging and zagging as they raced between stacks of shipping crates. Peeling around a corner, he spotted Leo and Raph running side-by-side, their arms out behind them as they sped up. 

Casey’s shot knocked Baxter low enough, that he had to retain his new altitude to avoid hitting the rafters that ran several feet below the ceiling. This was fortunate, as he was staying low enough for them to keep a close eye on him, even has he zipped around stacks of crates. 

Donatello struggled to keep up, his borrowed sneakers squeaking and unfamiliar clothes twisting and pulling at his body as he ran. From the sound of it, Casey was closing in behind him, his bag of gear clanking around loudly as he moved. 

Up ahead, Leo called to Raph, gesturing to the laced fingers he offered as a platform. Using the momentum of his run, Raph stepped into Leo’s foothold and was launched high enough by his brother to grasp the edge of a stacked crate and pull himself up. With a leap from his new height, Raph crashed into Baxter’s frenetic flight path, tackling the bug and pulling him down to the ground in a rough tumble.

Leonardo was beside them as they skidded to a landing, offering a hand to help hold the criminal in place as Donnie caught up to them. Donnie’s chest was burning from the intensity of the short run, and he felt out of breath, but tried his best to hide. He casually holstered his bo staff, wondering why he had even gotten it out, realizing he had provided little value in the scuffle. 

“Raph! That was awesome! You totally knocked him right out of the air!” Casey cheered, running up behind them while pumping his hockey stick above him for added effect.

“Sure did. Now hurry up and give me something to hold him.” Raph snipped as though he were annoyed, but at the same time wore a proud smirk.  

“Oh yeah, sure.” Casey swung his bag around him to the floor and quickly produced several zip ties, passing them over. 

Baxter was squirming and fighting to free himself from Raph and Leo’s hold when he locked his large round spheres of eyes with Donatello and froze. 

“You!” His voice buzzed in surprise. “If you’rrrre with them, that meanzzz it worrrrrked! The swiiitchzzzz worked!” 

Leo used the fly’s distraction to finish securing his arms behind his back and Raph none-to-gently shoved him face down onto the cement floor. 

Seeming unfazed by the rough treatment the scientist cackled maniacally to himself as he spoke. “Shzzzredder should have nevvver underestimated meee!”

“Moron.” Raph glared disappointedly as he continued to hold him down with little effort.

But Donatello was stopped in his tracks by the villain's comment. Willing the adrenaline which was still furiously pumping through his system to fine-tune his focus.  _ Baxter thought the switch had failed? _ He would have never known it was successful had he not seen Donnie in the spy’s body. No wonder the Foot were in no hurry to switch them back and retrieve their soldier—Baxter thought the switch had failed.

“Why did you do this?!” Donatello shouted before he could stop himself. A full day of being unable to pry any answers from his body-snatcher had left him more frustrated than he had realized. “What could you possibly gain from swapping our bodies!”

“It wazz the perrrrfect plan– if not for the exxxxxplosion.” Baxter snickered to himself, his body awkwardly shaking against the ground. Raph had a knee dug into his back, simultaneously holding him down flat while also keeping his wings pinned to prevent them from buzzing around. 

“Pay attention, dweeb!” Casey flicked the side of Baxter’s face with the blade of his hockey stick, cutting off his bout of laughter.

“What plan?” Donnie growled out in frustration.

“I needed your brain azzz my assssssistant to create a retroooo-mutagen.” Baxter stuttered a bit as he divulged his master plan. 

“But why swap him? It would have been easier to just kidnap him?” Leo leaned over his prone form to ask.

This question made the mutant cackle with hubris, before he answered with pride in his voice. “That’zz the genius of it all. Nobody would have evvver come looking for you, had they not known youuu were gone.” The fact that his face was pressed against the dirty cement floor did not affect his air of superiority.

“You’d have a prisoner that nobody was coming to rescue…” Donatello stated, putting together the pieces of the maniac’s story. 

“And an imposter in our ranks–all in one move.” Raph offered, batting away a loose wing that had smacked him in the face. 

“The perrrrfect plaaan!” Baxter continued to giggle with glee from his spot on the ground. “I get what I want, and Shredder getzz to infiltrate his enemy with the perrrrfect spy!”

As Baxter raved on about his plan, Donatello was struck with a frightening realization; had the machine not exploded, he would most certainly be Shredder’s captive by now; forced to work as one of the madman’s scientists. Meanwhile his brothers would have done exactly what they did the previous night when they had rescued what they assumed was their brother. Without a reason to cause suspicion, they would have never realized he was a spy - at least not until it was too late. 

“I’ll admit, it was a fairly clever plan, except you let me get away.” Donnie’s comment made Baxter’s laughter die immediately. “Too bad you’re an idiot and blew up the machine. What did you do? Mess with the power cells? Did you think you could just plug ancient Kraang tech into a 220 volt outlet and switch it on?”

The hack of a scientist had tried to hide his reaction, but it was clear that Donnie’s guess must have been pretty close. 

“Ha! He IS an idiot!” Casey roared as he pointed a gloved hand at the captive.

“Howwwww dare you!” Baxter was obviously trying to sound dignified, but his words held little weight as Raph continued to sit on his back, holding him prisoner. “Once the master findz out the switch worked, he’ll—”

Donatello stepped in to cut off Baxter’s gloating with a point of his own. “He’ll be pissed you ruined a perfectly fine working machine.” He paused to point back towards the pile of rubble behind them. “You blew up his warehouse and his soldier, letting your captive get away, and failed to deliver what you promised.” 

It was hard to read subtle expressions on the face of the half-man, half-fly, but Baxter was clearly caught off-guard by the point Donnie had just made. His cocky smile had faded and he looked more nervous than anything else.

“Ooooooh, Shredder’s going to be so mad.” Casey snickered. “He’s gonna be shopping for a giant fly swatter!”

They were standing in a semi-circle around the captive and Raph took the opportunity to pull the scientist up to a sitting position—holding firmly onto his zip-tied wrists to prevent him flying off. This gave Donnie and Leo a better view to stand before him.

Leo stepped forward, his arms crossed in front of his plastron and a severe look on his face. “Sounds like you got yourself into a bit of a pickle.” 

Donatello stepped up beside Leo to add onto his point, he tried to mimic his brother’s stance, but felt as though he wasn’t quite pulling it off. “I highly doubt that Shredder would be pleased to hear that your incompetence prevented this plan from reaching fruition.”

“Now that I knoooow you are trapped in thizzz body, Shredder will come after you, he’ll never let you ressst.” Baxter tried to play the only hand he had. 

“That’s true….” Donatello tapped his chin as he pretended to consider the consequences. “Of course, if he had me, why would he need to keep you around?”

“Shredder needzz me, I’m a genius! He’z relied on meee this entire time. I...I’m the onllly one that can figure ouuuut how to manipulate the mutagen!” Baxter’s voice cracked as he desperately  reached for more points.

“And yet you openly admitted you couldn’t figure out how to reverse the mutation process.” Donnie crossed his arms in front of his chest and held his head high. “Face it Stinkman, I’m smarter than you, and if Shredder gets ahold of me, he’ll have no reason to keep around a screw-up like you.”

“You got a point there, Donnie.” Raph smirked from behind Baxter. For added effect, he gave a tight squeeze on his hold, causing the mutant fly to squirm in his grip. “You’re ten times the scientist this guy could ever be. Shredder would probably feed Rahzar with Boxter here, for his incompetence.”

Casey chuckled from behind his mask as they all watched the terror of realization cross Baxter’s strange features. “You’re a dead man flying.” 

Unable to hide his terror, Donatello could see that Baxter was in agreement with their points. He felt that they had sufficiently scared him enough to not immediately give him up to Shredder. Although, Stockman was an idiot and it was only a matter of time that he let something slip to save his own hide. Could they really just let him go? Suddenly an idea struck him and Donnie leaned in to whisper his plan with Leo. 

His elder brother gave a nod of agreement, and waved his arm forward, suggesting that Donnie share it with the group. Baxter lifted his head in curiousity, interested in whatever he was about to divulge.

"Look, Stockboy, whether we like it or not, we're now on the same side: the side that doesn't want to get killed by Shredder. If you want to live, then we make a deal." Donnie tried his best to sound commanding as he presented the scientist with his only option.

“A deeeeal? What kind offf dealll?” Baxter turned back to look at Raphael behind him, but his brother shrugged and tipped his head towards Donnie and Leo as if to suggest Baxter pay attention to them.

Leo spoke up next, his position as leader of the group made clear by his authority. “If you agree to keep Shredder convinced that the switch never worked, and declare this machine unsalvageable so that we can take it unnoticed. Then we’ll let you go.”

“But, buttttt–” Baxter started nervously stuttering in protest. “Shredder will killlll me if I tell him the machiiiine was ruined! You said so yourselffffff!”

“Sucks to be you bug-brain.” Casey snorted from the sidelines, catching a glare from Leo in the process.

“You havvvve to givvvve me somethingggg.” Baxter was practically begging at this point as an idea seemed to cross his giant fly brain. “Retromutagen! Givvvve me retromutagen so I can be human again. Ifff you promise me that, I’ll keep Shredderrrr off your tail.”

Leo turned to Donnie with a raised brow. Technically the retromutagen could be used as a weapon against them, but Donnie doubted the fake scientist even realized that. He believed the poor twisted creature, when he said he wanted to be human again. Afterall, Donnie was currently living out a rather personal experience with being trapped in a body different from his own. It was a risk, but if the promise of retromutagen kept Baxter holding his tongue long enough to get the machine working, then so be it.

“I have a batch started, but it’ll take some time to complete. If he can keep our secret long enough for it to be finished, then he can have it.” Donnie concluded aloud.

“I don’t know, Donnie.” Leonardo replied, both ignoring the hope that flashed across Baxter’s giant spherical eyes. “That seems awfully nice. I’m not sure we can let ‘em go.”

“Pleazzzze!” Baxter begged. “I’ll do anything to be human again! If you make me retromutagen, I’ll reconfirm with Shredder that the device didn’t work - he knows that’s why I was here, to figure out what went wrong, find his missing agent.”

“You’ll tell him that his foot soldier died in the explosion.” Leo commanded. The sudden authoritative shift in his voice gaining Baxter’s attention as he intended. “And you’ll keep him away from this warehouse until we can gather up the remainder of the machine and get it out of here.”

“Yezzzz, yezzzz, I can do that.” Baxter nodded desperately. “He’ll nevvvver know you were herrrrre.”

“Damn right he won’t.” Leo glared.

“Now tell me what went wrong with the machine.” Donatello barked, trying not to let his fear of this answer show through is tough exterior. “Why did it explode?”

“Iiiii don’t knooow!” Baxter cried. “There was some kind of surrrrge… maybe it was the way I charrrged the power cells…?” 

“Sounds like you overloaded it.” Donatello commented, perplexed that the “scientist” wouldn’t have foreseen the issue, yet not surprised at the same time.

“It shooooould have worked. Perhaps the Kraang brooooke it?” 

Baxter’s attempt to place the blame on an alien race that had been driven from the planet months earlier was about the most pathetic thing Donatello had heard all night and it left him shaking his head. “Just let him go Raph, before we change our mind.” 

Raphael glared down at the captive before releasing his grip. Flipping out his switch blade he broke off the zip tie and stepped back. The fly’s wings buzzed to life as soon as they were freed, and Baxter was up above them a second later. 

“Don’t make us regret this Baxter!” Raph threatened as they watched his retreating form zoom out one of the skylights above them. 

“You really think we can trust that idiot to keep his word?” Casey asked, tipping his mask back up onto his head as he looked up.

“He’ll keep it.” Donatello responded in a tone that left no room for argument. “For his own sake.”

**End** **Chapter 6 - A Fly in the Ointment**

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**A/N: So many apologies for the long wait on updates! My muse was refusing to cooperate! Luckily, Suthnmeh/Poleepkwana keeps me honest, and we finally got back to this.**

**Baxter’s master plan was revealed… what do you guys think? Is it what you thought? What the hell is Donnie going to do? He’s definitely got his work cut out. Reviews make us happier than you could ever possibly know! Thanks for reading!**


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